Pastor Emeritus at New Covenant Baptist Church Bishop Simeon Hall in a press statement issued Tuesday said the government should delay the proposed November 6 constitutional referendum, adding that he believes important issue of gender equality is being lost in the fray.
Bishop Hall said he believes it might be wise for the government to delay the referendum to early next year, so that the “righteous cause of our women to be given equality under the constitution would not be lost in the midst of the fire storm about same sex marriage.”
Members of the Bahamas Christian Council and the Bahamas Crisis Centre have also made similar appeals to the government for the upcoming referendum to be delayed as they said more education on these issues need to happen.
He added that right now, gender equality is one of three important issues facing the country right now – the other two being Value Added Tax (VAT) and the soon to be debated Gaming Bill.
“These are all imperfect, but should set us in the right direction of fixing what has been wrong for so long for the benefit of all our children,” he said. “I support the regularisation of web shops. Either we close down all forms of gaming in our Bahamas or we allow Bahamian business persons to legitimately participate in this trade.”
He also addressed the discriminatory aspects of the Gaming Bill that do not allow Bahamians access to casino gambling calling it a blatant contradiction in policies.
“There are large areas in the country, which call for our immediate attention and often national issues become a football for Politicians depending on what side of the political divide they find themselves,” he said. “Twenty-first Century Bahamians demand that our leaders be bold, transparent and honest with those who follow them.
“The Christie Government must come clean with the people and be as unambiguous as possible. The next referendum must not be as was the previous. The time has come, indeed past due for us to fix gaming in The Bahamas, our tax system and gender equality. I call on parliamentarians in government as well as those in opposition not to sacrifice the nation’s progress on the transient alter of political expediency.”
