"Kentuckians Should Be Able To Vote On Gambling". I AGREE!
Kentuckians should be able to vote on gambling
by The Daily News
Having both of the candidates it openly endorsed for the Kentucky Senate lose their races, the Kentucky racing industry has retreated to the position it had when Gov. Steve Beshear was elected three years ago: Place a constitutional amendment to allow expanded gambling at the state’s racetracks on the ballot and let the people have the final word on this controversial issue.
That’s the right position, and members of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Senate should show the voters of Kentucky that they have faith in them making the right decision on expanded gambling by placing the issue on the ballot.
When Beshear made expanded gambling a major part of his successful campaign to unseat former Gov. Ernie Fletcher in 2007, it was widely assumed the Kentucky General Assembly would put the issue on the ballot. But when an amendment to allow expanded gambling was supported by neither the House nor the Senate, the governor threw his support to former Attorney General Greg Stumbo.
But Stumbo became convinced that a constitutional amendment was not necessary to expand gambling because the voters of Kentucky had approved expanded gambling when they approved the lottery amendment in the 1980s. Before long, both the racing industry and the governor were supporting the expansion of gambling without a vote of the people.
There are problems with Stumbo’s argument.
There was no guarantee that expanding gambling without voter approval of a constitutional amendment would stand up in court. When the lottery amendment was overwhelmingly approved, the idea that it would allow expanded gambling at race tracks and elsewhere in the state was never discussed. The people clearly thought they were voting for the lottery - and nothing more.
Neighboring Ohio attempted to bypass a vote of the people by enacting a law allowing slot machines at racetracks, but the courts declared that Ohio law unconstitutional. That Kentucky courts would have done the same seems likely.
But that really is a moot point because the Republican-controlled Senate was never going to endorse any proposal to expand gambling without a vote.
Until the people of Kentucky either vote for or against expanded gambling this issue will never die.
— The Independent, Ashland
by The Daily News
Having both of the candidates it openly endorsed for the Kentucky Senate lose their races, the Kentucky racing industry has retreated to the position it had when Gov. Steve Beshear was elected three years ago: Place a constitutional amendment to allow expanded gambling at the state’s racetracks on the ballot and let the people have the final word on this controversial issue.
That’s the right position, and members of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Senate should show the voters of Kentucky that they have faith in them making the right decision on expanded gambling by placing the issue on the ballot.
When Beshear made expanded gambling a major part of his successful campaign to unseat former Gov. Ernie Fletcher in 2007, it was widely assumed the Kentucky General Assembly would put the issue on the ballot. But when an amendment to allow expanded gambling was supported by neither the House nor the Senate, the governor threw his support to former Attorney General Greg Stumbo.
But Stumbo became convinced that a constitutional amendment was not necessary to expand gambling because the voters of Kentucky had approved expanded gambling when they approved the lottery amendment in the 1980s. Before long, both the racing industry and the governor were supporting the expansion of gambling without a vote of the people.
There are problems with Stumbo’s argument.
There was no guarantee that expanding gambling without voter approval of a constitutional amendment would stand up in court. When the lottery amendment was overwhelmingly approved, the idea that it would allow expanded gambling at race tracks and elsewhere in the state was never discussed. The people clearly thought they were voting for the lottery - and nothing more.
Neighboring Ohio attempted to bypass a vote of the people by enacting a law allowing slot machines at racetracks, but the courts declared that Ohio law unconstitutional. That Kentucky courts would have done the same seems likely.
But that really is a moot point because the Republican-controlled Senate was never going to endorse any proposal to expand gambling without a vote.
Until the people of Kentucky either vote for or against expanded gambling this issue will never die.
— The Independent, Ashland
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 4:31 PM
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