Wrong way to deal with bill

THE EDITOR: The Anti-Gang Bill was first brought to the Parliament by the UNC-led PP government. Its parliamentarians ought to know better than most whether it is good or bad legislation.

If the bill in the form presented by the PNM was good, then there was no reason for a sunset clause. There is no sun setting on crime.

If the bill was bad law, the UNC had to point out the bad sectors and vote against the clauses they deemed bad at the committee stage with a hope to have them changed so that TT could benefit from good law.

But to sit quietly when asked if there were any against the clauses in the bill and simply vote against it later in the Parliament is at best disingenuous.

What is even more distasteful is to make all the objections to the bill via media releases. That does nothing to address the crime situation. It simply appeases supporters of the UNC. The place to debate the ills of the bill and arrive at consensus was in the Parliament. It is time to stop the old talk that does nothing to address the serious issues that confront our nation. Everything is not about winning an election.

STEVE ALVAREZ via e-mail