The Bermuda Government’s three-pronged approach to tackling marriage equality has created “total confusion”, according to an Opposition MP.

Same-sex marriage opponent Wayne Furbert said announcing a referendum, introducing draft legislation on civil unions and tabling an amendment to ensure marriage was restricted to heterosexuals suggested that the One Bermuda Alliance was in disarray on the topic.

“Everybody is confused; it’s total confusion,” he said. “I don’t think the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. I support the referendum but it’s confusing and the confusion is, what is the Government going to be asking?”

The Progressive Labour Party backbencher said the Government’s approach looked to be a panicked attempt to satisfy all viewpoints but could have been avoided if it had dealt with marriage equality when the Human Rights Act was amended to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation in June 2013.

Back then, Mr Furbert attempted to specifically block same-sex marriage by attaching a proviso to the amendment stating nothing within it could overturn the clause within the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1974 that says marriage is between a man and a woman.

His bid was defeated by 18 votes to 12 in the House of Assembly. But yesterday he said the Matrimonial Causes Amendment Act tabled by the Government in Parliament two weeks ago was essentially the “same thing”.

Last night in the House of Assembly, Mr Furbert called for amendments to the Matrimonial Causes Act and the Human Rights Act to ensure that marriage remained between a man and woman, and called on the OBA to clarify their position on the issue.

According to the Premier, the OBA does not support same-sex marriage and Mr Furbert said a lot of the current confusion could have been avoided if Government MPs had supported his original motion.

“I support marriage between males and females,” he said. “It’s my religious upbringing and it’s probably no different [a view] from the majority of the black population.

“You will never find a majority of blacks supporting same-sex marriage.”

Polls on marriage equality in recent months have produced differing results:

• A Profiles of Bermuda poll in May last year asked: are you in favour or do you oppose same-sex marriage in Bermuda? The overall result was 58 per cent opposed, with 68.2 per cent of white and other voters in support and 71.9 per cent of black voters opposed.

• A survey commissioned by The Royal Gazette and conducted by Global Research in October asked: should same-sex marriage be legalised? The poll found 48 per cent were in favour of legalising same-sex marriage and 44 per cent were against.

The Pew Research Centre in the United States lists 23 countries that allow gay marriage and Mr Furbert said that was clearly only a fraction of the 190 or so countries in the world.

He suggested northern populations were more likely to be in favour than those in the south, adding: “It is not widely accepted worldwide. Look at the cultural aspect. The majority of blacks do not support same-sex marriage.”

Like pressure group Preserve Marriage, the Hamilton West MP believes recent rulings in the European Court of Human Rights do not require Bermuda to introduce same-sex marriage or civil unions but merely to canvass opinion from its citizens.

“It still comes down to the member states to decide,” he said. “That’s democracy.

“If a country doesn’t want it, it shouldn’t happen. If the people want it, I have no problem with it.”

OBA backbencher Mark Pettingill, who supports same-sex marriage, said the referendum would “reflect the view of society”.

He suggested there could be two questions on the ballot paper: whether voters were in favour of equal rights for same-sex couples and whether they were in favour of same-sex marriage.

If the first question received a majority in favour and the second question didn’t, the civil union legislation would probably move forward.

“I fundamentally support that same-sex couples must have the same rights as all other individuals and you have to start on the basis that it is a human [rights] issue: that humans are entitled to the same things across the board,” he said.

“At this stage, the fact that a civil union bill has been tabled [is] another move in the direction to make sure those human rights are enshrined for people of same-sex. I am happy that we are getting that far.

“The idea of having a referendum, that is something that people have called for.

“We want feedback on an issue, then we will have public feedback.”

The lawyer and former Attorney-General is representing a gay couple trying to get married in Bermuda.

He said the two men, who are legally married in the US, where they live, were still taking advice on next steps but it was now unlikely that theirs would be a test case.

“One has to look at what has been done in modern jurisdictions, what has sensibly been done in the US ... and what has transpired in the Europe and the UK,” Mr Pettingill said.

“What they have called for in the UK and Europe is to ensure that people’s human rights are enshrined in some framework that creates equal rights for same-sex couples.

“That’s a starting basis. It is possible that legally, in time, it becomes a question of marriage, but that is where we are at.

“I personally believe that there should be same-sex marriage. Other people have other beliefs and I respect those beliefs.”

Preserve Marriage, which pushed for a referendum, has yet to react to the Premier’s announcement on Monday.

The group has not returned calls from The Royal Gazette.

The Rainbow Alliance, which supports same-sex marriage, and the Centre for Justice, a civil liberties organisation, have criticised the decision to hold one.