Whether to expand gambling in the state is not the only moral issue facing Alabama’s legislators this session. But with so much energy dedicated to attempting to legitimize illegal slot machines, bills dealing with alcohol, abortion, same-sex “marriage” and tobacco are flying below the radar.
“So far, I’m tracking about 129 different bills that deal with moral issues,” said Joe Godfrey, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program. “There are a lot of good bills that are not getting passed. … Those things are being kept in committees, while pro-gambling and pro-alcohol bills are getting out of committee and tying up the House and Senate. It’s time for people to call their legislators and say, ‘Stop what you are doing. No more gambling or alcohol expansion bills.’”
Although Godfrey said alcohol bills are not usually pushed as aggressively during legislative sessions that fall within election years, 17 bills dealing with alcohol have been filed this year.
Alcohol
One of those bills is House Bill (HB) 565, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, which would allow voters to authorize Sunday liquor sales in Tuscaloosa. It was passed by both houses and awaits Gov. Bob Riley’s approval or veto.
Senate Bill (SB) 98, sponsored by Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, was passed by the Senate but immediately pulled by Bedford to make a technical change. It would remove the “fortified wine” definition applied to beverages with an alcohol content between 16.5 percent and 24 percent, allowing it to be sold anywhere regular table wine is sold. Currently this type of wine is sold only in ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) liquor stores. Godfrey believes such a law would be dangerous for young people because it would give them greater access to more potent alcohol.
“They (alcohol supporters) want more days that alcohol can be sold,” he said. “They want more locations where it’s sold. They want higher alcohol contents. They are always wanting more because they stand to make more and more money at a faster rate. They don’t care about the destroyed lives and broken homes that come as a result of the use of alcoholic beverages. … Somebody needs to call them into account.”
Several legislators have sponsored what Godfrey calls “family-friendly” legislation, but most of it has been placed in committees where the bills are “dying a slow death.”
Abortion
Rep. Robert Bentley, R-Tuscaloosa, sponsored several abortion-related bills at the beginning of this year’s session but none have moved. HB 40 proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion except in extreme cases “where the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother or where there is rape or incest.”
He also filed HB 41 seeking to protect health care professionals from taking part in any medical procedure or service that violates their conscience and a resolution opposing the Freedom of Choice Act.
“The reason these pro-life bills are not going anywhere is because too many Alabama state legislators are not willing to push them through or let them out of committee,” Godfrey said.
Like Rep. Bentley, Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, and Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, filed several pro-life bills that have not moved.
Beason’s SB 365 would require medical professionals to perform ultrasounds on pregnant women before doing abortions. His SB 335 would require abortion facilities to tell women “the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.”
Erwin, and seven other senators, sponsored SB 301 to “define the word ‘person’ as including any human being from the moment of fertilization.”
Lynn Thompson, a member of Faith Baptist Church, Moulton, and American Right to Life, wishes Alabama’s Baptist community would become more active in issues dealing with the lives of unborn babies.
“Issues like alcohol sales and gambling move us to action on a grand scale,” she said. “Oh how I wish the same could be said about abortion issues. Where is the call to action to save the unborn? Where are the press conferences and television advertisements?”
Some Alabama legislators are also facing off against same-sex “marriages.”
Same-sex ‘marriage’
Sen. Wendell Mitchell, D-Luverne, is sponsoring a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to amend the U.S. Constitution and adopt the Marriage Protection Act identifying marriages in America as “the union of a man and a woman.”
For the convention to be called and the amendment to be passed, at least two-thirds of the nation’s state legislatures would have to pass similar legislation.
So far, Alabama senators have passed the resolution and are awaiting the representatives’ response.
Smoking
This year’s smoking ban bills have not been as successful.
Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Pelham, sponsored HB 615, which would repeal the Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act. This act prohibits smoking only in certain public places, and would establish the Alabama Smokefree Air Act of 2010, which would include “enclosed public places, places of employment, private clubs, enclosed residential facilities and outdoor areas.” It is still in its original committee.
Sharing a similar fate is SB 541, sponsored by Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile. This bill would prohibit smoking in restaurants. It is scheduled for a public hearing March 31 at 8:30 a.m.
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