has defended the controversial service that will be held at the National Sport Centre on Sunday and has reiterated that there will be no ?gay bashing? at the event.

The Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches of Bermuda have both announced they do not support the event because they feel homosexuals will be treated in an unfair manner. During the Sunday service speakers will address the proposed amendment to the Human Rights Act ? an amendment fiercely opposes.

At a press conference, pastors representing the 80 churches who have joined the ranks of described the Sunday service as a ?history- making event? and said they did not understand why everyone was zeroing in on the gay issue. Bishop Goodwin C. Smith, Overseer of the New Testament Church of God said: ?We are hearing that we are ?gay bashing.? If someone can explain what gay bashing is. If we got up there on Sunday and read the word that we are guided by, you would probably have to call it gay bashing because it deals with the homosexual issue. The real problem is not the gays. The real problem is the people who are out there killing each other and snatching bags from tourists.?

Earlier in the day the Bermuda Human Rights Alliance (BHRA) voiced concerned about the service and defended the proposed amendment to the Human Rights Act. ?The amendment is not about gay parades, or holding hands or the miscellany of other things that some might suggest. It simply is about protecting everyone, whether gay or not, against discrimination based on their sexual orientation in certain specified aspects of their everyday life.?

BHRA also took issue with an hour- long programme produced by and which aired on television last week. United By Faith said the programme was produced to educate the public on ?what homosexuality does.?

A BHRA spokesperson said: ? The programme lent itself to fear-mongering and loathing of others based on their differences. It is interesting that the problems of gang violence in criminality did not deserve two bouts of an hour-long treatment as did the gay question.? member Andrew Curtis responded: ?One of the things that goes on in Bermuda is that we speak a lot and we are ill informed. What we did with that programme was to inform the public. We let the public decide if this is what they want for Bermuda? Do they want this for their children??

Progressive Labour Party backbencher, Ren?e Webb, intends to retable the Human Rights Amendment during this upcoming parliamentary session. Ms Webb?s first attempt to get the Bill passed failed when it was thrown out at the committee stage having been subjected to a conscience vote which did not bind MPs on party lines. will hold a prayer vigil on the grounds of the House of Assembly on the Saturday prior to the convening of Parliament on November 3. However the group maintains that the vigil is not a form of protest.