Legalize Gambling in Alabama, 2010

When the current Alabama Governor ran for office the first time, one campaign pledge was "no new taxes." Within weeks after assuming office, the first thing he did was act to raise them thru a Constitutional amendment vote. His position was "we need more tax revenue and the people of Alabama DESERVE the right to vote on it." The Governor and his pro-Amendment 1 backers DEMANDED that the people be given their constitutional right to vote (believing full-well that with their well-financed interests, they would win). We agreed then and we agree now that was the right of Alabamians to vote for or against more taxes ... People could vote YES or NO. They voted NO.

HOWEVER, the Governor, his friends in the gambling industry in adjacent states, Alabama's powerful religious lobbies (a contradiction in terms considering their tax-exempt  status) are working hard to DENY YOU the same opportunity. They DO NOT WANT YOU TO EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE ON A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WILL LEGALIZE BINGO IN A FEW COUNTIES... IF IT PASSED  Can you imagine their unmitigated gall?  Their blatant hypocrisy? Their self-anointed moral superiority ?

This petition is about 1 thing and 1 thing only: Freedom of Speech.  Even if you are AGAINST legalizing bingo and/or forms of gaming, you should be outraged that you are being denied your right to vote NO.

AND: If you love freedom, individual rights, freedom of speech (for which our Founding Fathers and countless other brave Americans have died defending and assuring, since we became a Republic) you should be equally outraged that members of the Alabama Legislature (republicans and democrats alike) are SO AFRAID OF LOSING THEIR POSITIONS IN THE HOUSE OR THE SENATE, THAT THEY WILL NOT EVEN LET PROPOSED LEGISLATION ALLOWING A STATE-WIDE, CONSTITITIONAL REFERENDUM ... in other words, YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE FOR OR AGAINST BINGO TO EVEN GET OUT OF THEIR CONVENIENT LITTLE COMMITTEES.

Shame on them ... and Shame on the voters who allow them to get away with it by denying all of us the right to speak our minds, freely, in the privacy of the voting booth.

Remember these words from Kris' song: Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.  Even if you HATE gambling, you must cherish your freedom and if you are denied the right to vote against it, you are not a citizen, you have allowed yourself to become a slave.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: SIGN THIS PETITION AND DEMAND THAT THE ALABAMA SENATOR AND THE ALABAMA REPRESENTATIVE WHO "REPRESENTS" YOU SUPPORT, VOTE FOR AND  PASS LEGISLATION IN THE 2O10 SESSION THAT BEGINS IN JANUARY, 2010 THAT WILL GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO VOTE FOR YOUR FREEDOM BY VOTING FOR OR AGAINST LEGALIZING BINGO... DO NOT LET THESE "ELECTED OFFICEHOLDERS" STEAL YOUR FREEDOM. SIGN THE PETITION SO YOU CAN VOTE IT UP OR DOWN.  THIS IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH. DON'T GIVE IT AWAY AND DON'T LET IT BE STOLEN FROM YOU BECAUSE OF APATHY OR OMISSION.

Proudly signed by the petition's initiator,
Dr. Russ Fine
Birmingham, Alabama