MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Citizens Action Program, or ALCAP, an evangelical Christian lobbying group is already drumming up their base to campaign against a proposal to legalize the lottery and expand gambling on Indian lands in the state.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of EVERY church member and EVERY person who is opposed to a gambling take-over of our state contacting your own House Member and State Senator THIS WEEK, and asking him/her to oppose EVERY pro-gambling bill that has been or might be introduced,” ALCAP said in an email sent to their members Monday. “If the pro-gambling crowd is successful, they will own this state for many years to come”
Senate leader Del Marsh (R-Anniston) announced Monday in a press conference that he will support a constitutional amendment that would allow a vote on a state lottery funding the general fund, as well as a gambling compact between the Alabama government and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians that would allow the tribe to have table games at their casinos.
The proposals come after a report commissioned by Senate leadership and conducted by Auburn University Montgomery’s Institute for Accountability and Government Efficiency (IAGE) found that the state, should it approve a gambling compact and state lottery, would be expected to:
– receive $331+ million in annual lottery revenue;
– create 13,000 jobs;
– collect an additional $63-73 million annually from Indian casinos.
ALCAP, however, argues that the revenue and jobs promised by the report will turn out to be hollow.
“Gambling has proven over and over again throughout the nation, in every state where it has been legalized to be a failed government policy,” ALCAP’s email said. “It NEVER brings in the amounts of money that are promised, and in fact, it literally sucks money out of the economy of individual states and the nation. We don’t have to look far to see the truth of that statement. When the Birmingham Racetrack was approved by voters several years ago, the promise was made that the Birmingham City Schools would never want for money again. Today, the Birmingham Racing Commission is having to put money into the racetrack just to keep it open and operating and the Birmingham City Schools have continued to struggle financially through the years.”
Evangelical Christians played a major part in the ultimate failure of the 1999 campaign to institute an education lottery, and will undoubtedly prove to be a significant factor should Sen. Marsh’s proposal come to a vote.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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