Objections have been made about Preserve Marriage’s application to become a charity — though the Bermuda Government will not say how many.

The pressure group, which is opposed to same-sex couples being allowed to wed in Bermuda, is still waiting to hear if its bid for charitable status has been successful. One objector told The Royal Gazette she hoped the application would be rejected on the grounds that it was preaching “outdated dogma”.

Hair salon director Sophie Ternent said she decided to lodge a formal objection because Preserve Marriage’s message seemed “such a departure from equality and growth and a complete violation of human rights”.

“How can there be any improvement in equal rights when there’s a group who’s sole dedication is to default to antiquated gender stereotypes?” she said. “There is no evidence that children from heterosexual parents fare better than those of homosexual. However, there are decades of research stating that children of same-sex marriages are doing just fine.

“As to their application for charitable status, I wholly oppose it. I fail to see how it can possibly be of public benefit. Giving them charitable status so that they can receive certain benefits is disrespectful to the LGBT community and morally wrong. There are many deserving charities in Bermuda; this shouldn’t be one of them.”

A Ministry of Home Affairs spokeswoman told The Royal Gazette that under the Charities Act 2014, the Registrar-General and the charity commissioners had to consider the declared purposes of a charity, the character and reputation of those connected with it and any other information deemed relevant.

“Accordingly, the Registrar and commissioners encourage any member of the public to submit information about current or future charities,” she said. “Consistent with this practice, the commissioners did receive some submissions from the public regarding the group Preserve Marriage and will deal with them appropriately.”

Asked to disclose how many objections had been received, she replied: “We cannot, as it would not be appropriate to comment more specifically about an individual application.”

The spokeswoman said the commissioners would make a decision within the next few weeks but wouldn’t publish notice of it since “we publish the names of all registered charities”.

The Act sets out a definition for “charitable purposes” which includes the “advancement of human rights. or the promotion of...equality and diversity” as well as the advancement of religion, education, citizenship and community development. It says other purposes can be deemed charitable if they fall within the spirit of those listed in the Act.

Preserve Marriage was founded by Melvyn Bassett, the former executive director of failed sports facility Sandys 360, and was registered as a limited liability company in December.

The other directors are Gary Simons, from Cornerstone Bible Fellowship, and Mark Hall, from Word of Life Fellowship. Lawyer Kyle Masters is the secretary.

No one could be reached from the organisation yesterday.