![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/lottery.jpg\" "\\"lottery\\"")
The Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) said its stands \u201cdiametrically opposed\u201d to gambling and if a referendum is held it would do everything in its power to make that position known.<\/p>\nThe Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) said its stands \u201cdiametrically opposed\u201d to gambling and if a referendum is held it would do everything in its power to make that position known.<\/p>\n
Responding to a promise made by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) on the campaign trail to hold a referendum on a national lottery and gambling within its first 100 days, President of the BCC Rev. Dr. Ranford Patterson said the council \u201cwould preach the message\u201d concerning gambling.<\/p>\n
He was speaking at a press conference at Cousin McPhee Cathedral on Carmichael Road.<\/p>\n
Patterson said he still thinks more people are opposed to gambling than those who support it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took an interest and drove around the other day [and] I have not seen one gambling house or one caf\u00e9… in Lyford Cay,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen any in Cable Beach; I\u2019ve not seen any out east; [and] none in Blair either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patterson said he does not think the owners of gambling operations live in the depressed areas where their businesses are located.<\/p>\n
Despite this, Patterson said the council will support the government in all of its endeavors. \u201cIt is time for us to put down our colors and unite as one Bahamas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cWe have a great country to build, so let us all get involved and do our part to make this the best little country in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the government fails, we all lose. If they succeed, we all win. So let us all help the government of The Bahamas to succeed so we all can win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patterson also responded to United States President Barack Obama\u2019s recent announcement that he supports gay marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarriage is between a man and a woman,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cThat\u2019s our position. It\u2019s not going to change.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople always say if America sneezes The Bahamas [will] catch the cold. That\u2019s what they believe. I strongly believe that there are still some moral issues in this country that we hold dear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patterson was responding to a question from a reporter. He said he believes that there is nothing that will cause Bahamians to go against the word of God.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we have a fight,\u201d he said. \u201cThe church is in a battle every day. We understand this and we are prepared to fight this battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travis Cartwright-Carroll
\nThe Nassau Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Bahamas Christian Council reiterated its opposition to gambling and intends to fight against it if the referendum promised by the PLP is held.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[93,137,168,163],"class_list":["post-21622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-corruption","tag-gambling","tag-politics-2","tag-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21622\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}