Hamilton Princess, Bermuda was both applauded and criticised yesterday for pulling the plug on two talks by a prominent same-sex marriage opponent.

Ryan Anderson, a member of the conservative American think-tank the Heritage Foundation, was to speak at the hotel next week but general manager Allan Federer issued a statement saying it would not be a “venue for anti-diversity discussions”.

The organisers — a group going under the names Preserve Marriage and Concerned Citizens of Bermuda — hit back, claiming the hotel was “operating under the false idea that banning a presentation results in upholding diversity, when in reality it violates the definition and practice of diversity in every form”.

The free public forums on December 1 and 2 at 7pm will now be held at the New Testament Church of God, Heritage Worship Centre, 59 Dundonald Street, Hamilton.

Dr Anderson’s lectures were announced on Tuesday and, according to Mr Federer, media coverage alerted the hotel to the subject matter.

His statement said: “It has come to our attention that a meeting to oppose gay marriage was to be held at our hotel. Immediately upon learning of the nature of the meeting, we called the organisation to explain that our policy is one that celebrates diversity and that the hotel is not a venue for anti-diversity discussions.

“It is a standard hotel practice that upon making a reservation, groups disclose the nature of meetings that will take place on our premises. This meeting originally was reserved under a different guise and would never have been accepted if the group had disclosed its intentions at the time of the reservation. The Hamilton Princess does not accept any booking that promotes discrimination of any kind.”

Preserve Marriage said it would “seek appropriate redress in the immediate future” of the hotel’s decision to refuse to provide it with “goods and services”.

Group spokesman Melvyn Bassett said: “We are highly disappointed that the management of the Hamilton Princess did not take leadership in this matter. Appropriate leadership would have been to send a message to the public stating that, because they uphold diversity, they will allow this event, as surely all hotels have had other forums and events in which speeches or debates are held with various opinions, without banning goods and services.

“At the same time, they have disregarded the business that citizens of Bermuda who are in favour of the current definition of marriage bring to the hotel industry.

“It is our hope that this discriminatory ban will be lifted and that Hamilton Princess will exercise leadership for the community rather than operating under the false idea that banning a presentation results in upholding diversity, when in reality it violates the definition and practice of diversity in every form.”

Lawyer Adrian Beasley, who recently married his partner Shane in New York and had a blessing in Bermuda with a number of related events, including a cocktail reception for more than a hundred guests at Hamilton Princess, said: “I applaud Hamilton Princess for having socially tolerant and diversity-celebrating policies in place and the courage to make decisions based on such policies. You have definitely won me and my family over.

“When I heard about Ryan Anderson coming to Bermuda and speaking at the Hamilton Princess, I was disappointed. My husband and I are directly impacted by the Bermuda Government not recognising our marriage.

“We are firm supporters of all efforts to level the playing field and to afford the same rights to us and all other same-sex married couples as to our heterosexual counterparts.

“That said, we are both obviously wary of mounted attempts to promote ‘traditional’ marriage in a way that is designed to counter the efforts of those of us seeking simple equality.

“I personally don’t have an issue with open-forum discussions, even those that advocate for ‘traditional marriage’ or for Mr Anderson to speak in Bermuda; it’s healthy to debate these topics and for all interested parties to attend.

“However, I also believe that the public debate is becoming incoherent with rhetoric and as emotions escalate, the issue will continue to be polarising.”

He said the hotel’s decision initially to host the talks smacked to him and his husband of inconsistency, since it was prepared to host celebrations linked to a gay marriage.

“It made me reflect on the adage ‘business is business’,” said Mr Beasley. “We did send in an e-mail to the lady that organised our event and expressed our disappointment; we firmly believe in providing feedback to businesses where we choose to spend our hard-earned dollars.”

He added: “Our excitement at the decision of the hotel to not accept the reservation, based on their policy of celebrating diversity, is palpable; they have earned our respect in this regard.

“Although I don’t believe they have stated on record that the hotel supports marriage equality in Bermuda, this is a stark reminder to all of Bermuda that there are other stakeholders here, who may not stay silent anymore, where they might have five years ago.”

Pastor Sylvia Hayward, an equal rights campaigner, also praised the hotel and said its decision was not an affront to free speech or diverse views.

“Good for them,” she said. “I just applaud their stance because I am a firm believer in equal rights. They are not saying ‘you can’t do it’. All they are saying is ‘you can’t do it here’.

“They are saying we stand up for equality, we stand against discrimination and we are not going to be a part of it.”

Mr Federer told The Royal Gazette he was not aware of the nature of the forums until media coverage. But the organisers said the hotel never asked for specifics about the talk.

“Hamilton Princess was fully informed that the venue and arrangements were being made for and on behalf of Preserve Marriage,” said their statement. “Hamilton Princess never asked Preserve Marriage to disclose the nature of the meeting that would take place, which is a civil presentation of Why Marriage Matters.

“All questions were answered truthfully and fully. Availability was confirmed and then the process later discontinued by the general manager. We were shocked by the representations made by Hamilton Princess to the contrary and will be taking this serious misrepresentation of the facts up with the general management directly.”

The Human Rights Act outlaws discrimination in the supply of any goods, facilities or services, because of religion, belief or politics, among other things. It was not possible to reach Dr Bassett for further comment on Preserve Marriage’s reference to the refusal of “goods and services”.

Mr Anderson lectures on the constitutional implications of same-sex marriage, which became legal across the United States this year. His views were cited by Justice Clarence Thomas in his dissenting opinion in the 2015 US Supreme Court case involving state marriage laws.

Preserve Marriage’s statement said: “Diversity is defined as ‘the quality or state of having many different forms, types, and ideas’. The public presentation that Dr Ryan Anderson usually presents is not based on arguments founded in morality, theology nor tradition.

“It is unfortunate the Dr Ryan’s views were invited and acceptable in the US Supreme Court and major universities, but apparently unacceptable for the Hamilton Princess.”