Activists claim the Island is currently defying international law on human rights and making homosexuals criminals.

The campaign is headed by Mr. Bill Courson, an accountant based in New Jersey, who wants a law against gay sex removed from Bermuda's criminal code.

At present, homosexual relations can lead to a maximum 10-year jail sentence, even if the men are consenting partners in private.

Few cases have made it to the Island's courts in recent memory. But Mr.

Courson says that by allowing such a law to stay on the books, the Bermuda Government is against human rights.

The 40-year-old activist, who works with the backing of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in San Francisco, is a volunteer campaigner.

He said yesterday he was not gay, but was interested in human rights issues around the world.

"I was earlier involved in another matter concerning the Isle of Man (off northwest England) which had a similar piece of legislation to Bermuda's, in defiance of the UK's obligation under the European Convention of Human Rights.

"The Isle of Man was ultimately prevailed upon to change its statute.'' Mr. Courson then turned his attention to Bermuda -- writing to the Governor, the Premier, and the British Foreign Office.

He discovered from the Foreign Office that in 1988, the UK "reminded the Bermuda Government of its obligations'' under the European Convention to change the law.

Bermuda was still considering the matter, said the Foreign Office. But Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan wrote to Mr. Courson: "It is not the present intention of the Government of Bermuda to amend the Criminal Code.'' Now Mr. Courson is waiting to hear from British Foreign Secretary Mr. Douglas Hurd on whether the UK will go over the head of the Bermuda Government and remove the law.

If it seems Bermuda and Britain are both refusing to act, Mr. Courson plans to lobby for action from the United Nations.

"I'm bringing this action on my own behalf,'' he said yesterday. "But having allies in Bermuda may very well prove to be a substantial help.'' Other activists were waiting to see what happened and he expected they would mount a campaign in the near future.

"Things are in a state of suspense right now. The ball is now in the UK Government's court.

"The issue is not the number of prosecutions or whether prosecutions occur.

"The problem I have is the fact that the law exists at all, and continues to exist.

`The prospect of its use is more than sufficient to chill freedom of expression.

"The Government of Bermuda has indicated no wish to change, which is really a very blatant defiance of international law.'' Scrapping the law would mean gay men were no longer criminals in their own homes, he said.

"It would no longer be criminal to act according to one's fundamental identity.

"Such laws are not appropriate in this day and age, if they ever were appropriate.'' He said he feared Bermuda Police were actively enforcing the law against gay sex.

In the 1991-1992 Spartacus Guide, a "directory of the international homosexual community'', a Bermuda Police spokesman was quoted as saying: "Homosexuality is the type of crime that is not tolerated in Bermuda.'' A spokesman at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said the group was fighting "for the rights and freedoms of sexual minorities and people with HIV worldwide''.

Mr. Courson acted of his own volition, but often worked with the commission.

Attorney General Mr. Walter Maddocks yesterday confirmed the law was still on the books in Bermuda.

Prosecution under the law is "not something that frequently happens'', he said.

"It is no offence for males to hold hands or to kiss and cuddle,'' he added.

Opposition leader Mr. Frederick Wade said there was no PLP policy on the issue. "We haven't discussed it,'' he said. "I think we would permit our members a free vote on the matter, based on their consciences.'' In a letter to The Royal Gazette yesterday, a Southampton resident using the pen-name White And Queer said: "In 1992 there are no exclusively gay establishments in Bermuda because of existing prehistoric laws that say homosexuality is illegal.

"It is time for Queers in Bermuda, from every racial and economic group, to unite and stand up for gay rights.''