subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Wed, Feb 10 2010 

Published: August 07, 2007 07:45 am    print this story  

Group won’t appeal table games law to U.S. Supreme Court

Mannix Porterfield
Register-Herald Reporter

Faced with certain defeat if they tried to pursue it, the West Virginia Family Foundation has abandoned its effort to haul the Legislature into federal court over the new casino gambling law.

Ray Lambert, the group’s president, said the decision was reached after extensive consultation within the past month with Lewisburg attorney Barry Bruce and his staff.

“Our attorneys have advised us we should not go forth with a federal lawsuit,” Lambert said Monday.

Already, the conservative Christian organization suffered a major legal setback when the West Virginia Supreme Court, by a 3-2 decision, refused to hear its case against the 2007 law.

Under that act, one that divided the Legislature the past three years, counties with horse-and-dog track counties may offer casino-style gambling, provided it is approved by voters in each county.

Jefferson County voters rejected the idea, but Ohio and Hancock counties subsequently approved table games, leaving one last election — this Saturday — in populous and seemingly divided Kanawha County.

“They believe now that we would not be successful in federal court,” Lambert said, acting on Bruce’s advice.

Bruce had filed the extensive lawsuit in state court against the gambling legislation.

“Further research shows that federal courts seldom step into state issues, even on voters’ rights or when state finances are involved.”

What’s more, Lambert said, exhaustive research left the Family Foundation with little encouragement.

“We found that the laws we hoped we could use were not in place,” the Beckley resident said.

Admittedly, the setback in the state Supreme Court and the apparent futility of pursuing the matter at the federal level have left the group extremely displeased.

“We hate to lose, especially in a politically charged case like this that we believe will have negative impacts, for families in particular,” he said.

The Family Foundation put up a rigorous lobbying effort last winter in hopes of killing the measure, using witnesses at a public hearing in the House chamber to testify about the dark side of casino-style gambling.

Some told of domestic squabbles prompted when the paycheck was squandered on gambling, and others told of family members turning to serious crimes, such as robbery, to make up lost income.

“We cannot gamble ourselves into prosperity,” Lambert said. “No individual in the state can either.”

Lambert said the state court delivered “a great injustice” by refusing to give the foundation a hearing before the five justices.

“And that was the death knell for our efforts to overturn the act,” he said. Lambert said it is possible to have a bill offered in the 2008 legislative session seeking to void the act, but doubts this would get anywhere.

“With the present makeup of our Legislature, in my opinion, it would be a waste of time,” he said. “More conservatives need to be elected if our state has any hopes of coming out of the financial pit that we find ourselves in. Our liberal Legislature and governor have hung another millstone around the necks of West Virginians, who already are having a hard time making ends meet.”

Lambert characterized casino gambling as “a regressive tax that hits a segment of our society, which is ill-equipped to gamble in the first place.”

The foundation leader predicted a plague of ill effects — bankruptcies, suicides, divorces, broken homes, child abuse and neglect — all “fostered by gambling addiction.”

Unable to file the federal suit, the foundation is accelerating its efforts to defeat the issue in Kanawha County, using its Web site, www.wvfamily.org, to make computer printouts to pass out at the polls this weekend.

“We think it will be a close vote,” Lambert predicted.

print this story  



autoconx

Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Premium Jobs

CNAS - MONTGOMERY GENERAL ELDERLY CARE
Montgomery GENERAL ELDERLY CARE is accepting applications / resumes for Certified Nursing Assistants. Applicants may app...>MORE

PLANT FOREMAN AND PLANT MAINTENANCE CHIEF
Nicholas Energy is accepting applications and resumes for Plant Foreman and Plant Maintenance Chief. If you are looking ...>MORE

REGISTRAR AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL AID
KANAWHA VALLEY COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE. Institute, WV. Invites applications for the following positions: • Reg...>MORE

CERTIFIED WV UNDERGROUND COAL MINER OPERATORS
GMS Mine Repair and Maintenance is seeking experienced Certified West Virginia Underground Coal Miner Operators. Immedia...>MORE

COMMERCIAL TIRE SERVICE MANAGER
Commercial Tire Service Manager in the Crab Orchard, WV area. Candidate must have a minimum of 5 years medium commercial...>MORE

NURSES - CARELINK
NURSES Quality Improvement Coordinator / HEDIS. Nurses needed for HEDIS project February through May. Make appointments,...>MORE

NUTRITION EDUCATOR
Nutrition Educator. The West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Technical Support Network, Inc. (TSN) administers a Sup...>MORE

ELK RUN JOB FAIR 2/12 - OAK HILL
Job FAIR. Massey Energy is accepting experienced underground applicants. Our expanding operations are located in Raleigh...>MORE

COAL MINING POSITIONS - SPEED MINING
Speed Mining, LLC, an operating affiliate of Patriot Coal Corporation, has immediate openings at its American Eagle Mine...>MORE

SAFETY MANAGER
LOCAL Engineering Company with background in the coal industry is seeking a full-time Safety Manager. Detailed knowledge...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Jobs

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index