a group representing the Island's gay people.

Instead, people who hate gays need to be cured, says the Bermuda Human Rights Alliance.

BHRA members spoke out yesterday after the announcement of plans to form Valiant Ex-Gay Ministries, a Christian group aimed at homosexuals who want to renounce their sexual orientation.

Being developed with the Family Policy Council, formed by a group of churches, the ministry will operate on the premise that homosexuality is a condition that can be reversed.

But members of the BHRA say sexual orientation is not a choice for them -- it is something they were born with.

"A person would have to be sadistic to choose to be discriminated against,'' said a spokesperson for the group, a 32-year-old gay man who did not want to be named. "It's not homosexuality that needs to be cured, it's homophobia.'' And a fellow member, a young black lesbian, said: "Most homosexuals are quite comfortable with their sexual orientation.

"Me loving someone is not a sickness. Why would I want to cure it?'' The new ministry, to be headed by 36-year-old laundromat owner Mr. Wayne Lee, supports laws which make homosexual acts illegal -- laws which gay rights activists are fighting to repeal.

Activists also say they want to tackle ignorance about homosexuals. A common myth about gays and lesbians is that they are all perverts or child molesters, says the BHRA.

Both the homosexuals agreed there are perverts who happen to be gay. "But you can't take one person and use him to class a whole nation of people,'' said the 25-year-old lesbian, who also did not wish to be identified.

Nor was homosexuality just about sex. "Gayness is an emotion. It has nothing to do with sex,'' she said.