Bermuda’s gay community has turned to social media in hopes of raising its public profile.The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda now has its own Facebook page aimed at provoking positive discussion about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues.Said member Caitlin O’Doherty: “We created this page to bring visibility to the Bermudian LGBT/queer community and all of our supporters and allies. As a group of concerned citizens, we hope that this page will help us move these discussions in a more supportive and progressive direction.”The site was created as a direct response to the group members’ growing discontent surrounding the discussion of issues and has a specific focus on amendments to the existing human rights legislation, Ms O’Doherty said.MPs debated a take note motion on a proposed Equality Act in the House of Assembly last month. The lengthy debate saw a number of MPs voice their support for plans to outlaw discrimination against non-heterosexuals.Described as “a space for allies and supporters of the LGBTQ community of Bermuda” the Facebook page had garnered 198 ‘likes’ by press time yesterday.The group consists of approximately 12 heterosexual and LGBTQ members, Ms O’Doherty added. She said they were “very pleased” to see that early response.“We were cautious to be too hopeful of the response but the rapid growth and sharing has really demonstrated to us that support for the LGBT/queer community in Bermuda is far-reaching and growing.”The 18-year-old McGill University student attributed the rapid growth to “the broad scope of the page's purpose”.At the moment the group doesn’t operate outside its Facebook page.Ms O’Doherty said: “A few of us are hoping to organise an event in the coming weeks. We would love to see this conversation moved into a physical space where this community and its allies can speak and demonstrate support.“There are many people in the Bermudian community who refuse to condone the negative speech surrounding these issues — be they LGBT or allies. There is support, there are people with stories to tell — we need to let them be told.”The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda hopes that the site will keep growing and act as a vehicle to help organise and discuss support for the LGBT community locally.“We hope that others will help use this page and idea to create more positive, anti-oppressive forums for discussion in issues involving the LGBT/queer community of Bermuda in the future,” said Ms O’Doherty.