Why the conflict?

Letter of the Day: Why the conflict?
Mark Andrews, Sanibel

How ironic. The very day Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott explains his position on crime around casinos, the Florida Sheriff’s Association explains its. And they are in stark contrast to each other.

---- Sheriff’s Association says” We stand behind Attorney General Pam Bondi in her opposition to the expansion of gambling in our state. Study after study has confirmed the link between casino gambling and increased crime. Florida’s gambling help line reports that 35 percent of callers said they committed an illegal act to support their habit. Moreover, in casinos where large sums of cash are exchanged frequently, organized crime often takes root to use casinos to engage in money laundering, loan sharking, robberies and prostitution.”

---- Sheriff says: “Opponents cite crime increases as inevitable and yet the same can be said for any development of large scale. For example, there is little or no crime on vacant land until that land sports a large shopping mall, school or residential neighborhood. Casinos are actually very safe places. While at the Hard Rock, my room card was scanned every time I approached the elevator. Meanwhile, anyone can walk through the front doors of a hospital and go straight into the elevator unchallenged. So which building is safer?”

---- Please, sheriff. We’re not talking about whether the is building safe. The question is: Is the community safe?

---- Your own association says “no.’’ So how can you justify supporting the casino?