Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP) and other gambling opponents may not be as well funded as pro-gambling forces, but they hope a new video ad will boost their grass-roots effort to combat the expansion of gambling in the state.
The nearly minute-and-a-half-long ad, called “The Truth About Illegal Gambling,” was produced by Citizens for a Better Alabama (CBA), an anti-gambling lobby that was publicly active during the state lottery debate.
Eric Johnston, president of CBA, said the organization has been active in recent months monitoring gambling bills in the Alabama Legislature and created the ad as an educational effort to fight the “deceitful” Sweet Home Alabama campaign blanketing the state.
“A lot of people have received these brochures in the mail and have heard the ads on the radio and television, and the campaign makes it sound like this bill is something good,” he said. “We felt like we needed to get something out there to respond.”
The CBA anti-gambling ad states that gambling interests want to “legalize Las Vegas-style slot machines and build megacasinos in our state.” It goes on to say casinos will bring “more crime to our communities, pain to our families and corruption to our government.”
The ad ends with an appeal to viewers to contact their state legislators to express their opposition to the legislation.
ALCAP has distributed the ad via e-mail to its mailing list, and ALCAP Executive Director Joe Godfrey hopes that people who receive it will view it and send it to others in their e-mail address book so it will reach as many as possible.
Godfrey said the gambling industry has millions of dollars available to support its efforts to expand gambling in Alabama, which presents a challenge for ALCAP and others opposing the gambling legislation.
“We don’t have the kind of money the other side has got, which is one reason we are opposed to putting this out to a vote,” he said, referencing the Sweet Home Alabama campaign. “We foresee that money would have to be diverted from local church ministries and missions efforts to try to counter the gambling forces if this measure is on the ballot.”
Todd Stacy, press secretary for Gov. Bob Riley, said he is “thrilled” that groups are coming together to tell the truth about the Sweet Home Alabama campaign.
“This bill has nothing to do with bingo and everything to do with casinos and slot machines,” Stacy said. “The governor has known that all along, and we’ve been trying to say it. It’s nice to see groups getting organized to tell the people of Alabama the truth that this is a bill to legalize slot machines and authorize the development of casinos in Alabama.”
Like ALCAP, Stacy said the governor’s office has distributed the ad via e-mail to supporters and people who have signed up for legislative updates.
Johnston believes the nature of the Internet will help gambling opponents publicize their message and is depending on people around the state to forward the video to others.
“We are citizens and we don’t have the money from gambling to support our effort,” he said. “We are hoping that when people see this, they will tell others about it. We’re just trying to get the facts out there.”
The ad is available online at www.thealabamabaptist.org.
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