| Sir Manuel Puts NEAB in Check |
| Mon, August 21, 2017 |
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The bill to decriminalize small quantities of marijuana was taken to the House of Representatives for a first reading on Friday - and the public debate on this hot button has only just begun. NEAB - the National Evangelical association of Belize has weighed in with the most force thus far: they issued a statement saying that the Association and, quote, "it's 250+ represented churches expresses its disagreement with intent and steps of Government to decriminalize marijuana, a move that we are convinced is an incremental step towards legalization." The statement then goes unto say, quote, "As Prime Minister Esquivel stated emphatically to us in private and public meetings, "the Church is the conscience of the nation."
Well he's no longer Prime Minister but Manuel Esquivel did issue a statement to us, saying, quote, "I understand that a recent press release from the National Evangelical Association of Belize quotes me as saying that 'The Church is the Conscience of the Nation'. These words, if I did say them, were certainly not offered in the context of decriminalising the possession of small quantities of marijuana. It is well known that the current laws disproportionately affect certain disadvantaged segments of our population. If the Church truly wishes to be the Conscience of the Nation, it should concentrate on fighting against poverty, racism and classism."
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