It was standing room only Feb. 24 in the Pelham Civic Center’s Bronze Room as Gov. Bob Riley and other state and local officials rallied Shelby County’s anti-gambling troops. The energetic crowd gathered for what Riley said he hopes is the first of many town hall meetings sponsored by his office to stop illegal gambling across the state.
“This is a simple, very uncomplicated issue,” Riley told the crowd. “All across the state of Alabama today, we are seeing the expansion of gambling [like] we have never seen and that very few states have had to endure. … This is not bingo.”
And despite ongoing electronic bingo gambling feuds in several Alabama counties, the most pressing battles are occurring over bills filed at the Alabama Statehouse, according to Riley and his deputy legal adviser, Sonny Reagan.
“The bills that are currently pending in Montgomery in the Statehouse do four things: legalize slot machines, create criminal immunity to any casino operator or gambling boss in this state, repeal all federal and state laws that conflict with these bills and their sweeping provisions and expand gambling throughout this state,” Reagan said. “These bills are disguised as local bills, but if passed, they would have statewide ramifications and would unravel the laws that have been the laws for hundreds of years.”
One of many bills already causing major debates between gambling supporters and opponents at the Statehouse is Senate Bill (SB) 135, which seeks to expand electronic bingo gambling in Greene County (see www.thealabamabaptist.org).
According to estimates of the amount of money spent in “gambling halls” in Greene, Macon and Walker counties, Riley and his advisers said gambling operators in those areas currently make nearly $700 million each year.
And if legislation like SB135 is passed, then electronic bingo owners stand to make even more money, which Riley said should be spent at “our retail stores” and “in our schools.”
“We have to call a stop to it,” he said. “It’s expanding into almost every area of the state, and it’s because we haven’t stood up and said, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Still, according to Riley, there is a much bigger bill “supported by some of the biggest power brokers in Montgomery” projected to come down the legislative pipeline before the session ends. Riley said this proposed bill is “something that would forever change the way we look at Alabama,” as well as the “quality of life” in the state.
Dan Ireland, director emeritus of Alabama Citizens Action Program, said the details of this legislation are not yet known.
“We’ve been told that there is a bill that’s coming that the Indians and the racetracks and all the gambling promoters are going to be pushing,” he said.
“What that bill is and what all it has in it, the general public does not know. The rumor around the Statehouse is that this is a big, more inclusive and expanding piece of gambling legislation that will open the door for full-fledged, casino-style gambling in the state. But that bill has [not yet] been filed.”
No matter when gambling proponents plan their move, several legislators like Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, are ready for the fight.
“As long as we are there in Montgomery, we are going to do everything in the world to stop gambling in Alabama and they are going to have the fight of their life trying to get gambling extended in Alabama,” he told the crowd at the Pelham town hall meeting.
“We are serving notice that it is showdown time. We are never going to have to come back and debate this thing again. We’re telling the gamblers to hit the road, Jack, and don’t come back anymore.”
Riley said legislators usually do not interfere with each other’s local legislation as a longtime legislative courtesy but local bills like SB135 should negate that courtesy.
“When it comes to gambling, I think everyone needs to vote their conviction,” Riley said. “I’m all for courtesy but not when it gets to the point that [you] approve something that the people of Alabama have said they don’t want time and time again. … We can’t allow our senators to hide behind this courtesy.”
Because of that, Riley repeatedly urged members of the crowd to contact their elected officials by phone or e-mail requesting a “yes or no” answer about their voting plans for SB135.
“We want people to know where their representatives are,” Riley said. “One thing we know about a democracy is that the voice of the people will make a difference. Go home. Get involved. Let’s have this debate now and let’s win it.”
Fully supporting the governor and his initiative against illegal gambling, Freddy Ard, chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party, announced the Alabama Republican Party’s new anti-gambling resolution to “censure” any legislator “who expresses support or votes for any pro-gambling bills, including so-called ‘local bills.’”
Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, a member of Westwood Baptist Church, Alabaster, in Shelby Baptist Association, said town hall meetings are the best way to defeat gambling.
“They (gambling supporters) are coming up with all these new gimmicks — finding 5 or 10 percent of the people who support [gambling],” he said. “The governor is doing the right thing. The majority opposes gambling. He’s taking it to the people.”
Erwin encouraged Alabamians to join the fight.
“If they get these bills through, they will blow apart the constitution and make gambling an issue in Alabama forever,” he said. “People need to really pray, and they need to make a phone call or send an e-mail to their legislator and tell them we are tired of this.”
At press time, a similar anti-gambling meeting was planned for March 2 at Embassy Suites in Montgomery.
To voice your opinion about electronic bingo gambling, call your legislators at 334-242-7600 (House) or 334- 242-7800 (Senate).
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