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Partners In The Mission:
Ninety Days to Stop Expanded Gambling
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| Release Date: 01/08/2008 |
| a message from Dr. Bill Mackey, executive director |
The Kentucky General Assembly opens the 2008 legislative session this week with one of the biggest issues that of expanding gambling by adding casinos at the racetracks and other locations. This has become a perennial issue in Kentucky politics but our new governor’s endorsement of a constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling means that the possibility of passing such a dangerous amendment is greater than ever.
The administration and House of Representatives leaders have said they expect to have a constitutional amendment ready by April and it appears that gambling proponents may have the votes they need in the House. Therefore, the Kentucky Senate is where the best hope lies for stopping expanded gambling.
I am urging all Kentucky Baptists to contact your legislators, especially your state senator! It is urgent that you contact your senator to share your opposition. Our senators need to hear from hundreds of people in each county.
According to a recent Louisville Courier-Journal survey of senators, 15 senators are for amending the constitution to permit racetrack and free standing casinos, eight are undecided, 13 are against or leaning against, and one could not be reached. One has since been elected to a state office and is no longer in the Senate.
All of the senators need to hear from you. Those who are undecided need to know how their constituents feel. Those who are opposed need to know that they have solid support. And those who are supportive of casinos need to hear that there are hundreds of concerned citizens in their districts who understand the devastation that casinos can bring to our state.
House members must hear from their constituencies as well or they will conclude that there are no concerned citizens in their area. I have heard reports of representatives and senators who say they have not heard from a single voter in their district!
It is important for Baptist laypeople to get involved. Our elected officials already expect to hear from pastors, the KBC Committee on Public Affairs and me. They must also hear from voters and business leaders in their communities.
You can easily contact your legislators by calling the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181. If you don’t know who your legislators are, the receptionist will be glad to tell you.
You can also easily locate your legislators on the Kentucky General Assembly Web site at www.lrc.ky.gov. For updates from the Committee on Public Affairs, visit www.kybaptist.org/publicaffairs where there’s a wealth of material, including my recent letter to the governor.
No one will escape the negative consequences of expanded gambling. Research has discovered that 40 percent of the gamblers come from a 50-mile radius of the casinos. Every extended family, community and church will feel the impact.
Please let your voice be heard!
Dr. Mackey's column appears weekly in the Western Recorder. To subscribe to the Western Recorder, call (502) 489-3535. |
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