which outlaws homosexual sex, Tourism Minister the Hon. C.V. (Jim)Woolridge said yesterday.

And he said he is not worried that keeping the present law will hurt tourism on the Island.

"We are not ready to bend over backwards for a few people who feel that way,'' Mr. Woolridge told The Royal Gazette . "I'm not in favour of acting under duress, or as a result of brinkmanship, because a certain segment of the community in the US feels that way.'' Mr. Woolridge was reacting to a growing campaign to legalise sex in private between homosexual men. Under Bermuda law, gay sex between males can lead to a 10-year prison sentence.

On Saturday, The Royal Gazette reported The Advocate, an influential US magazine for gays and lesbians, was working on a feature article focusing on Bermuda's gay sex laws.

Earlier, Mr. Walt Marlowe of the Florida-based International Gay Travel Association said his 600 gay travel firms would back any boycott against Bermuda over the issue.

In the US, gay and lesbian groups are boycotting Colorado, urging vacationers and conventioneers to stay away until the state reverses an anti-gay rights amendment passed by voters in November.

Denver has lost an estimated $15 million in convention business as a result of its anti-gay laws.

Among groups that have cancelled conventions to honour the boycott are the US Conference of Mayors, the American Association of Law Libraries, the National Organisation for Women, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, and Boston have prohibited official travel to Colorado and the spending of public funds in the state.

But Mr. Woolridge said he does not fear a gay backlash against Bermuda. "I'm sorry,'' if gays do not wish to visit Bermuda, but "I can't go out and drag them in,'' he said.

"I'm not deeply concerned about it,'' Mr. Woolridge added. "If those fellows want to start doing something, they should take care of things in their own homes. It's a question of morality.'' Mr. Woolridge said he voted to retain the present law the last time the issue was raised in the House of Assembly in 1971. "That means I support it,'' he said.

The article in The Advocate, which has a paid circulation of 75,000 and is to appear on US newsstands on January 26, will focus on New Jersey accountant Mr.

Bill Courson's efforts to change laws which outlaw gay sex in Bermuda and the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man recently bowed to pressure to repeal its law, while Mr.

Courson is hoping the British Government will go over the heads of the Bermudian Government to repeal the law on the Island.

Mr. Courson has said he learned from the Foreign Office that in 1988, the United Kingdom "reminded the Bermuda Government of its obligations'' under the European Convention on Human Rights to change its law on gay sex.

But Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan has said Government does not intend to amend the criminal code.