Just a week after the controversial gambling referendum ended in a ‘no vote’, members of the Save Our Bahamas campaign team hosted a celebration concert in Rawson Square last evening.

Hundreds of Bahamians gathered in the city’s centre to give thanks for what they called “a victory in the battle for the souls of Bahamians.”

President of The Bahamas Christian Council, Reverend Dr. Ranford Patterson, said that last night’s festivities were a celebration of Bahamians refusing to sell out their nation.

“I’m really grateful that as Bahamians we are able to see for ourselves that the citizens of this country are really concerned and have voted overwhelmingly ‘no’ to the referendum,” he said.

“The Bahamian people have already spoken and that’s it. We as Save Our Bahamas have done what we’ve set out to do and it’s up now to the attorney general and the government to do what they have to do.”

“We have done our part and we are thankful to God for showing us and showing the world that Bahamians still believe that God is their supplier,” he added.

On the evening of January 29th, Prime Minister Perry Christie ordered that all web shops be shut and no gaming of any sort was to carry on inside the building neither online.

However, after securing a conservatory order from the Supreme Court, web shop owners were given the green light to carry on with business as usual, upsetting thousands of Bahamians.

Pastor Alvin Stuart, one of the coordinators for Save Our Bahamas, said that despite the web shops remaining open, he’s happy for the steps taken by the government to close them down.

“The government took the initial steps to order the closure of web shop gaming, but that was interrupted by the court action and so we just have to wait and see what transpires,” he said.

“I don’t think the petition before the court is for the courts to regularise web shop gaming. I think the court will make a determination on whether or not web shop gaming is legal and if the courts determine that it is legal, we expect the government to pass the necessary legislation to make it illegal.”

The mini praise concert, which featured a performance from the New Destiny Baptist Church Praise team, was described as a long time coming for one of the founding members of Save Our Bahamas, Bishop Alfred Hepburn.

“I’m feeling well because it was a struggle for us but we knew from the beginning the church would come out victorious. You cannot beat the church because Jesus said, ‘Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

“When we think about it, I’ve been fighting against this gambling for many years now, and we came out tonight for a special thanksgiving session to give thanks and praise for what he has done,” he said.

Pastor Stuart said that Bahamians can also look forward to Save Our Bahamas speaking out against several more social ills within the country.

“It’s as if this sleeping giant called the church has been awakened and you can expect to hear much more from the church in the future.”