The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Rhode Island says he personally opposes a casino but say the Narragansett Tribe was unfairly stripped of its rights through a midnight rider.

During a debate on Monday, candidate Sheldon Whitehouse said he would review the rider that prevents the tribe from engaging in gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. But he stopped short of saying he would try to repeal it.

The rider was passed after the tribe won a court victory that would have allowed gaming under IGRA. It was authored by the late Sen. John H. Chafee, whose son, Sen. Lincoln Chafee, is running for re-election.

Lincoln Chafee has refused to review the rider. He is trailing in the polls behind Whitehouse, a former state attorney general.

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Debate remark sparks criticism (The Providence Journal 11/1)
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