Residents Say Bill Unconstitutional

Some residents of West Virginia are upset that a bill to legalize table games has gotten as far as it has, as they say it is unconstitutional. They say that if you look at the state’s constitution, you can see that it should never have been approved. The table games bill has passed the House, and now it looks as though it stands a real chance of passing the Senate.

However, residents say that if you look at the constitution and the Lottery Amendment of 1984, you can see that there is no correlation between them and table games, yet lawmakers are trying to make it seem as if there is. They say that the lottery amendment states that the “Legislature may authorize lotteries which are regulated, controlled, owned and operated by the State of West Virginia,” which means lotteries and like minded games are covered. They insist that table games are not a lottery.

The lobbyists have been trying to say that it is just an extension of the amendment, but residents claim it is not. Residents are not alone in their concerns, as Delegate Kelli Sobonya says that their claims are “outrageous” and that to try and link that amendment and table games would be “arrogant and constitutionally blind.” She thinks that the government is answering to the gambling industry instead of its constituents.

The lottery has already been expanded to include slot machines, because the original ones were lottery machines. However, the table games have nothing to do with the lottery; they are simply an expansion of slot machines and gambling. Residents say that this is all about money, and they are aware of that, but they want it done legally – not in the underhanded way that they have been handling it.



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