We deserve an up or down vote!

The current impasse over “Pathways” reminds us of President Obama’s efforts to nominate a Supreme Court justice. All he wants to do is perform his constitutional duty and for his colleagues in the Senate to do the same. His judicial nominees deserve at the very least a debate and an up-or-down vote. In Bermuda, we face the same conundrum. Our Government has a constitutional duty to propose laws and our Legislature has a constitutional duty to consider and scrutinize those laws. However, this process falls apart when a small minority takes it upon themselves to physically prevent MPs from debating this legislation. We, the people, deserve a debate and an up-or-down vote on “Pathways”. As one media outlet said today: "One of the many ironies surrounding the immigration reform protest is, while its leaders like to refer to themselves and their supporters as “the people”, they are very much in the minority on the Pathways issue. So if the Bermuda Government is truly listening to the people, it should pass this Bill without further ado.” We couldn’t agree more. Not only are there more supporters of “Pathways” than there are opponents, there are more people in favour of the Government’s proposals than in favour of “Bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” All we want is for the Government and Legislature to be permitted to do their job and give effect to the will of the people. And we want the Bermuda Police Service to facilitate this process. We urge all persons to email the Premier, the Speaker and the Commissioner of Police with one simple message: let’s get on with the people’s business, let the will of the people prevail and let the House sit. In other words, let’s have an up-or-down vote! mdunkley@gov.bm; rhorton@parliament.bm; mdesilva@bps.bm