Gambling Expansion in MissouriOn November 3, 1998, voters in Missouri approved Amendment 8 (which erased existing statutes barring certain kinds of raffles and sweepstakes), and Amendment 9 (which legalized “boats in moats”). Gambling opponents had warned that approval of these two amendments would open the door to virtually every type of gambling. And according to the Council of State Governments, that is exactly what has happened. The Council of State Governments recently sponsored an extensive review of various kinds of gambling sanctioned by voter referendums or state government, or both. This study concluded that Missouri has become one of the nation’s most gambling-intensive states, offering a constantly expanding number of gambling opportunities. [Southeast Missourian, article by Jack Stapleton, Jr., 12/9/98] Further evidence of the effects of Amendment 9 include the Missouri Gaming Commission’s recent decision to allow off-river construction of a $72 million casino project in Boonville. The Victorian Star at Boonville will be the 16th casino licensed to operate in Missouri and the first off-river project permitted since the November 3rd vote. [The Kansas City Star, article by Rich Alm, 12/20/98] Now that the “boats in moats” issue has been settled, the gambling industry has teamed up with a number of Missouri legislators to introduce over 18 gambling bills that will substantially expanded gambling in Missouri. These bills will: 1) eliminate the $500 betting limit; 2) eliminate two-hour boarding times; 3) legalize off-track betting; 4) allow nonprofit organizations to operate a limited number of slot machines; 5) simplify the purchase of metal tokens with electronic credits; etc. Rep. Louis H. Ford, a Democrat who sponsored one of the bills said, “ … the time had come for Missourians to either unshackle the casino industry from restrictive laws or outlaw gambling.” [The Kansas City Star, article by Rich Alm, 2/10/99] Expansion of gambling in Missouri has also influenced our neighboring state of Kansas. State Senator Sherman Jones, a Democrat from Kansas, has introduced a bill to legalize slot machines, video poker and other electronic games of chance at Kansas racetracks. Sen. Jones said, “I don’t think gambling is as emotional an issue as it used to be. People are flocking to casinos, and I think legislators are going to look at it a little differently.” [The Kansas City Star, article by Rich Alm, 2/21/99] ACTION TO TAKE: Contact your state legislators with your concerns about
the expansion of gambling in Missouri (573/751-2000) and Kansas
(913/296-0111).
Education Funding . . .On January 28, 1999, President Clinton delivered his annual budget proposal to Congress. At that time, he requested $34.7 billion in federal education funding, an increase of $l.2 billion over current spending. However, a recent report released by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reveals that there is no correlation between increased education funding and improved academic achievement. The “Report Card on American Education,” which studied patterns in state education expenditures and student achievement, found the following: New Jersey ranked highest among the states in per pupil expenditures ($10,900), but scored 29th in academic achievement. Minnesota, however, ranked highest in student achievement, but ranked 27th in spending. To read the ALEC “Report Card on American Education,” go to the ALEC website at www.alec.org[Ed Facts, Family Research Council, 2/12/99] Abstinence Education Is Working .The Consortium of State Physicians Resource Council has announced the findings of their new study on teen pregnancy. This study found that the cause of the overall decline in teen birth rates during the 1990’s was NOT due to increased contraceptive use, but was a result of the recent trend to promote sexual abstinence among teens. The study also revealed that among teens who are sexually active, the out-of-wedlock births have risen dramatically. Dr. John Diggs, spokesman for the Consortium and member of the Massachusetts Physicians Resource Council, said that the findings show that the “safe sex” approach to teen sexuality is a failure and not at all “safe.”Landlord Rights Upheld . . .In January, a federal appeals court ruled that landlords in Alaska may refuse, for religious reasons, to rent to unmarried couples. The court ruled that Alaska’s law and a similar one in Anchorage interfered with property owners’ free exercise of religion as well as their property rights and their freedom of speech. Jordan Lorence, a Christian attorney with the Northstar Legal Center in Virginia, hailed the Alaska decision. He stated, “We finally got a federal court to recognize that making decisions based on one’s religious beliefs about sexual morality is not on the same moral level as discrimination based on race. That’s common sense to most people.” [Culture Facts, 1/20/99] Alaska officials vowed to appeal the decision. However, if the decision stands, it will be binding on federal courts in Alaska, California and seven other western states, thus severely hampering the growing number of “marital status discrimination” lawsuits being filed by homosexuals and unmarried heterosexual couples.Although landlord rights in Alaska were upheld, the Michigan Supreme
Court, in overturning two lower court decisions, recently took the
opposite view. This case involved landlords John and Terry Hoffus,
who declined to rent to an unmarried couple because of their deeply held
religious beliefs against unmarried cohabitation. The high court ruled
that Michigan’s law, which bans discrimination in housing, was
completely neutral and applied to all citizens fairly. The court
further ruled that the law would take precedence over the
religious-liberty rights of landlords to make their own rental
decisions. The Hoffius’ attorney will probably take the case to the
U.S. Supreme Court. |