Liberty, Justice, and Gambling

The first salvo in the battle over electronic bingo in the state of Alabama was fired today at the State House here in Montgomery. At a press event today, several members of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, along with Jimmy Jackson, Dan Ireland, and others, renewed their opposition to the expansion of gambling and introduced a previous resolution calling on the Legislature to likewise oppose any expansion of gambling.

As the Legislature and the people of Alabama ponder the most prudent route to take on the issue of gambling, the issue has taken an even more politically precarious posturing due to the recent opening of Country Crossings in Dothan. Thousands of electronic bingo machines, that the Houston County Commission and local law enforcement have deemed legal pursuant to a local constitutional amendment allowing bingo operations, are now operating at the venue. Recently, the governor’s anti-gambling task force has threatened to raid the newly opened facility, and the county has responded by opposing Riley and requesting an injunction from the local district judge to block the raid, allowing the task force search warrant to expire. The Alabama Supreme Court recently overruled the trial court on the issue.

This ongoing legal and political battle amongst our elected officials and religious and political leaders is neither productive nor symbolic of the spirit and nature of Christ, whose prayer was that we all may be one. Nevertheless, it is understandable that we are in this situation, as there are so many loopholes in the state’s messy legal patchwork of gaming laws. Because the local constitutional amendments and case law lack a precise definition of what constitutes the game of bingo, gambling proponents and opponents have continuously butted heads, with each proclaiming their definition as the true law of the state. It does not assist in toning down the debate when each side appeals to the emotions of the citizenry with cries that expansive gambling will cure our economic woes or that clarifying our gaming laws will permanently tear the state’s moral fabric.

Over the last several years, we have sought sound legal advice concerning federal and state case law in forming our own recommendations regarding the operation of electronic bingo within our state. As a result, we have come to the following conclusions. First, without a constitutional amendment prohibiting all forms of bingo, then there will continued expansion of gambling within the state. Even if the Alabama Supreme Court rules that the electronic bingo machines that are in operation are illegal, the Indian casino operators in places such as Atmore and Elmore County will be the sole monopolistic operators of gambling within the state. The only difference will be that the state will receive no revenue from this ongoing moral vice to combat the inevitable social consequences. Unfortunately, Governor Riley has -- to this point -- convinced many of the members of the Baptist Association that a referendum eliminating all forms of bingo, both paper and electronic, is not necessary. This is despite testimony from renowned experts in the field to the contrary. Despite the Governor’s misguided assurances, if the Baptist Association truly desires to halt the expansion of gambling, they need to support a statewide referendum. Meanwhile, the Indian casino operators are strategizing to meet their goals of developing a gambling monopoly and maintain the status quo.

Despite opposition from the Administration and some leaders relying on its assurances, many members of the Legislature have courageously introduced legislation to allow for a statewide vote to eliminate all forms of bingo that were previously allowed by local constitutional amendments. The ability to allow the people of the state to vote on the legality of bingo once and for all would put an end to this needless debate and allow for more important work to be done by the Legislature.

In a much broader context, we should celebrate the ingenuity and brilliance of those who designed our representative form of government. In fact, our forefathers’ Judeo-Christian heritage in many ways influenced the way they designed our government, both nationally and statewide.  They saw the wisdom of allowing for the expansion of liberty and freedom, as well as living within a nation of laws, not of men (See generally Exodus 18 – 24, wherein the principles of a nation of laws and local control are exhibited amongst the Israelites).  This philosophy has allowed us to enjoy the religious freedoms that millions of Americans have fought and died to preserve.

The separation of powers, both in our federal constitution, and in our state constitution, is central to our form of government. In short, the Executive (the governor) enforces our laws, and the Judiciary (the courts) interprets them. However, the strongest branch – the Legislature – makes our laws. They are our representatives for doing so. In the case of bingo laws, we have no legal definition of the term. This ambiguity risks overreaching by both the Governor in enforcing his personal opinion of what the term should mean, as well as the Judiciary in applying its own views when interpreting a term the Legislature has not defined. Naturally, to represent the citizenry, the Legislature should step-up and define the term itself, or allow the localities to which each constitutional amendment applies to define the term in their local area. 

While those of us who oppose expanding gaming may believe that we should oppose it no matter what – even if it means stretching and adapting our beliefs on how our system of government operates, perhaps we should re-evaluate that position. For instance, if it were possible to void a presidential election because the candidate we personally did not support was elected, should or would we exercise some sort of moral mandate to change the outcome by court decree? Did Alabamians elect Governor Riley to make a legal determination on the definition of bingo operations across the state? Is it the duty of individual members of the Alabama Supreme Court to define the intentions of the people that passed these local bingo amendments, with little guidance from the text of those amendments? Judicial conservatives, such as most Christian conservatives, and I would venture to say, most Alabamians, generally would not support such judicial activism from our courts. After all, trying to define ambiguous terms in the federal constitution, namely the federal “right to privacy” is what gave us such disastrous decisions as Roe v. Wade.

Would not it make more sense to have our representative law-making body, the Legislature, to define electronic bingo and paper bingo if there is ambiguity to the intentions of the local bingo amendments? It is something that all of us that cherish liberty and limited government -- values that we embrace from our Constitution -- need to seriously consider.

Most importantly, we as Christians must remember that one of our primary missions is to build relationships with those who may not know Jesus Christ, such that those that may not have the same values or faith as ours would desire to know this Christ whom we profess to follow. Given that calling, I believe that we should try our best to emulate the same grace that was given to us, when we engage in political discussions and debate. We must also accept that it is likely that everyone doesn’t have the same values or priorities, and we must accept this as well, even as we explain and fight for our heartfelt convictions.

Keeping all of these foundations in mind, the Christian Coalition of Alabama has called for a statewide referendum to clarify our gaming laws. We are seeking public support for the elimination of all gambling, including those operated on the Indian reservations in our state. It makes little sense to target private gambling operations without addressing the growing threat of unregulated Indian-operated gambling operations, which are actually the most pervasive form of gaming in our state. We will continue to seek legislative definition of both paper and electronic bingo by statute to give clear direction to both local law enforcement and the courts, pending resolution of these questions. The intention of those communities that have allowed for local bingo operations need clarity to avoid needless and costly court challenges. Our goal is to unify Alabamians across the state, rather than be perpetually divided on these important issues. In this time of economic uncertainty and rising unemployment, we must work as one citizenry to improve and enhance the quality of life of all Alabamians rather than to foment needless and costly confrontation and debate on this issue.

Dr. Randy Brinson