Opinion: Leave tribes alone on casino smoking ban

Monday, April 20, 2009  

"Proposed legislation that would ban smoking at the Mohegan Sun casino and Foxwoods Resort Casino is pointless and counterproductive.

When considering legislation and its proposed imposition on the two tribal nations, the legislature must note one fundamental fact: Our tribal nations are independent, sovereign lands governed by their people — not the state — and must be dealt with accordingly. Any proposed changes that would affect the tribes must be negotiated, not dictated by state law. To do differently would be embarking on a slippery slope — one that would lead to an acrimonious relationship both tribes have worked diligently to avoid.

The Mohegan tribe, for example, is the state's fifth largest employer, with more than 8,000 people on its payroll. In these difficult economic times, with businesses across the state and the nation furloughing employees every day, the Mohegans made a commitment to protect as many jobs as possible. Mohegan Sun asked casino employees to take a pay cut, and then managers took a bigger percentage pay cut out of their salaries in a show of support for rank-and-file employees."

Get the Story:
Tony Sheridan: Why Challenge Tribes With Smoking Ban? (The Hartford Courant 4/119)