MFI Decries Closed-Door Deals on Beacon Hill
Monday April 05, 2010 - 08:08 AM
Kris Mineau, president of Massachusetts Family Institute, released the following statement in response to House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s proposal for expanded legalized gambling in Massachusetts.

MFI Decries Closed-Door Deals on Beacon Hill

Kris Mineau, president of Massachusetts Family Institute, released the following statement in response to House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s proposal for expanded legalized gambling in Massachusetts:

“During a week that was both Holy Week for Christians and Passover for Jews, and a solemn time of reflection for the majority of Massachusetts families, Speaker DeLeo unveiled a new bill to expand predatory gambling, including slot machines and resort casinos. Though the bill is 172 pages long and did not exist when hearings were last held, Speaker DeLeo will not allow any further public comment, nor will he allow for an independent, non-partisan cost analysis of this legislation which caters to the gambling industry. Studies to date, tainted by ties to the casino industry and accomplished during a robust economy, exaggerate so-called benefits while downplaying and understating costs in infrastructure, family disintegration, law enforcement, crime, governance, and the environment. This is an outrage, but not surprising from a State House that has historically ignored the people. We challenge Speaker DeLeo to open the closed doors and conduct a truly unbiased study of the ramifications of a Massachusetts casino culture that would forever change the fabric of our state and diminish family incomes.”

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