Date: 01-February-2013
From: News Center Publications
Dear Friends,
A Southern Baptist religious leader had something
interesting and perhaps very important to say about Puerto Rico in late
January.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist
Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said he favored U.S.
statehood for the island during a Washington, DC, news conference.
Land called “statehood for Puerto Rico a moral and
human rights issue.”
Former island Gov. Luis Fortuno, with Land when he
made the statement, called the issue a "moral imperative."
Their comments came after 61 percent of islanders
voting last November on a non-binding resolution said they favored U.S. statehood.
Another 33 percent said they wanted to become a free
associated state of the United States. Five percent said Puerto Rico should be politically
independent like Cuba and the Philippines.
For a final political decision to be made, the U.S.
Congress would have to pass legislation calling on the island of 3.7 million
residents to vote for or against statehood.
Puerto Rico, along with Cuba and the Philippines,
became part of the United States at the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Islanders have been U.S. citizens since 1917.
Currently, the island is a U.S. Commonwealth.
We talk about
these matters because of our interest in the Caribbean, Latin American and its
extension to other parts of the world.
As a result, we
have six novels backing up the point and they can be found quickly. To find
them, click News Center Publications after reaching the
Web address ‘www.natcarnes.com.’ Once
there click: Amazon.com.
This
Caribbean Memo and a Memo collection can also be
found on the same site by clicking Caribbean Memo.
Remember, we are interested in your comments, pro
and con. In other words, that's how we learn.
And please let us know if you want your name taken
off the Caribbean Memo list.
The Editors
