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Senator Ruben Diaz Blasts Gov. Cuomo Over Casinos, DNA Bank

New York State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr has, for some reason, enjoyed sending his press releases to an obviously hostile, LGBT blog. Why, we are not sure, though. Still, we are willing to print them while pointing out their flaws.

Senator Diaz issued this statement in response to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address:

Although I may be the lone voice crying in the wilderness, I need to publicly and ardently disagree with New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and his plans to call for an amendment to the State Constitution to legalize casino gambling. I also need to express my strong opposition to his proposal in his State of the State Address to build a DNA databank of samples taken from criminal defendants in New York State.

Like the rest of us, Governor Cuomo must know that by legalizing casino gambling, gambling addiction will increase and more and more families and children will suffer. Rent will not get paid. Food will not be on the table. In a State where poverty levels have increased, gambling revenues will not draw from expendable income but from families’ necessities. Instead of helping the many New Yorkers who already suffer from gambling addiction, this amendment will only continue to destroy their worlds and further exploit vulnerable and poor New Yorkers and their families.

Governor Cuomo has already legalized gay marriage. Now he wants to legalize casino gambling. What’s next – legalizing prostitution and marijuana and drugs – all in good “faith” to make money to raise tax revenues for the State?

What Senator Diaz fails to take into account is the fact that this ship has already sailed. New York already has a lotto, so any harm that gambling is going to do has already been done. In this case, it is a six-of-one-half-a-dozen-of-the-other type deals whereby the state can make money off of tourism coming in, but the benefits could be outweighed by the problems that it will cause.

As for the legalization of drugs and prostitution, there is a lot of evidence that eliminating the bans on those would actually benefit the poor.

Diaz went on to complain:

In regard to Governor Cuomo’s hopes to build the DNA database, he must be aware of the racial injustice that exists within New York’s prison system. It is unsettling how on one hand, the Governor says that he opposes harsh fingerprinting requirements for families who need food stamps, and on the other hand, he wants to expand the DNA databank samples of criminal defendants. The racial imbalance targeted by both of these rules is clear, and the disregard of civil liberties and privacy protection laws and the implications it gives to the authorities is also clear.

To some, Governor Cuomo may seem to be unstoppable, but I do not see him as our economic savior. I see him as quite the opposite.

Senator Diaz is way off the mark on this particular issue. Whether he likes it or not, the DNA bank is a necessary tool in this day and age for law enforcement officials. That there is a racial injustice in the legal system in the United States is a certainty, but that has to be addressed in the proper manner rather than denying police officers tools which can be helpful in catching repeat offenders.