Government backbencher Renee Webb is prepared to introduce a private members? bill protecting gays under the Human Rights Act if Cabinet does not back the move.

?You have to stand up for what?s right,? the former Tourism Minister said last night. ?Everybody should be equal before the law. That is the right of every human being ? whether you like their lifestyle or not.?

Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler has said the amendment to the Act ? which would make it illegal to deny someone housing or employment based on their sexual orientation ? will probably be brought to Parliament by the summer.

The amendment, howevThe amendment, however, was missing from the Throne Speech.

Ms Webb said she understood Mr. Butler was tabling information in Cabinet on gay rights under the Human Rights Act. Cabinet will have to present a unified view on the matter.

At least one Cabinet Minister, Health Minister Patrice Minors, has already publicly expressed her view that gay families are immoral, though she has not spoken on the rights of gays to housing or employment.

If Mr. Butler manages to bring the legislation to the House of Assembly, Ms Webb said, ?then great?.

If he does not, however, ?I indicated I would be willing to introduce a private members? bill?, forcing Government and the Opposition to take a stance on the issue. Then, MPs could be told to vote on their conscience.

?I don?t think this is a matter of conscience,? she said. ?Discrimination is the issue ... I think that any form of discrimination is wrong. Whether or not you like their lifestyle is not the issue.?

Ms Webb said she was not afraid of any potential backlash now. ?I wasn?t afraid of it during the Stubbs Bill, I supported the Stubbs Bill,? she pointed out.

The Stubbs Bill, passed in 1994, legalised homosexuality amidst frenzied protests from Christian groups, including marches and demonstrations. Then-PLP leader Frederick Wade was also one of the eight Opposition MPs in support of that bill ? leading some to state the PLP had committed political suicide by drinking ?the poison? served by late MP John Stubbs.

Former chairman of the Human Rights Commission Bishop Goodwin Smith has spoken out against the move to give gays rights under the Human Rights Act, citing religious beliefs and a need to protect the rights of landlords from having gay tenants.

The Bishop also branded homosexuality a perversion alongside those who have sex with children, saying: ?It would appear that homosexuals have a special class of rights that many other citizens do not have?.

The Act already prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender, religion, race, disability and political beliefs, in the areas of employment, housing and provision of certain services.

?Bishop Goodwin Smith has a right to espouse what he believes in his Christian faith,? Ms Webb said, adding:?(Bermuda) is not a theocracy. Government represents all citizens ? including those who are incarcerated, or committing adultery, or if their sexual orientation happens to be different.

?The role of Government is to protect its citizens ... This Government is a secular government. The Church does not rule Bermuda. The Government does.?