Thursday, July 9, 2009

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Methodist minister: Let people decide on gambling By SHAVAUGHN MOSS ~ Lifestyles Editor ~ shavaughn@nasguard.com: The age-old question as to whether Bahamians should be allowed to gamble legally has "raised its head" once again, with one Methodist minister saying the topic should be put to a referendum, letting the people decide. Grand Bahama-based Reverend Emmett Weir, whose stance is in the opposition, believes gambling is morally wrong. He holds firm to his faith's teachings that gambling should not be countenanced. In spite of his beliefs, Weir is a believer in democracy, and says that the best way to handle the impasse about the topic of legalizing gambling would be to hold a referendum, allowing the people of the country to answer the question, and for the powers that be to act accordingly. "The holding of a referendum is the only way to deal with the current question of gambling which is one of the major issues in our nation," said Weir, who said that the reality of the situation is that it is practiced on a very wide scale. "The legal position is gambling is wrong, thus, if we are to go by the rule of the law, then it follows that we should rigidly enforce the law, or we should change the law so that it may be practiced without the present hypocritical situation in our land. While on one hand, the "numbers houses" have been raided, the powers that be have accepted a very large amount of money from a company which has its income from the numbers industry." He further said that the police should not be criticized for doing their job, when they raid "numbers houses," because they are only enforcing the law of the land. He said if an uproar results from law enforcement officers doing their jobs, then the law should be changed, which he says must be considered. The religious leader also noted that people from all walks of life play "numbers" — the poor, middle class and wealthy — including police officers. In spite of his stance, he says the people should decide on whether they should be allowed to gamble legally. "Let the people decide," said Weir. "Let it be debated in Parliament, in the churches, in the bar rooms and the barber shop . . . The church can state its position, then [the] state theirs — then voting — the way forward in keeping with democracy. Then let the people vote. This is the best way out of the present impasse." A national lottery is not a new debate, but over the past few weeks, several persons have spoken out again on the topic as to whether gambling should be legalized in the country for Bahamians and permanent residents. Opposition leader Perry Christie has said the time has come for the country to review its gaming laws, taking into consideration that a "substantial part of the Bahamian public" in one way or another already engages in some form of gambling. He said legalizing aspects of the game of chance could potentially benefit the country. There are those who have cited that education and sports, infrastructure and other government programs could benefit from a national lottery. Recently, National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest said it was his personal view that the question of legalizing gambling should be put to referendum. "I think that we ought to have a referendum and let the people decide," said Turnquest in an interview with The Nassau Guardian. "We don't have a mandate to do so (legalize gambling). It wasn't a part of (the FNM's) manifesto. So the only other way is that there has to be a mandate from the people," said Turnquest. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has said that legalizing gambling is not a part of his current legislative agenda. However, Ingraham said he would not stand in the way of changing the laws if others made the move. In one of his first news conferences after coming to office in 2007, Ingraham said there will be no referenda put forward by his government. Thursday, June 11, 2009