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Another Victory for "Moral
Legislation" and a Small Step Backward for Mankind
By John Hill
On March 16th, 2001, Leisure Time Casinos & Resorts, together
with its' subsidiary Leisure Time Technology, filed for Chapter 11
protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court. Citing the ruling
of the South Carolina Supreme Court outlawing video gaming, company
spokesmen stated that the Court's decision severely impacted their
ability to maintain profitable operations in the face of growing competition
and lack of replacement markets.
Leisure Time Casinos & Resorts is a many faceted company that
develops and sells multi-game, video touch screen gaming machines
and associated software, in addition to participating in video pull-tab
technology. As such, losing one of their major markets resulted in
operating losses that the company could not sustain.
Perhaps the point here, and one which should give all gaming related
services cause for concern, is the insidious affect of "moral
legislation;" legislation by governmental bodies designed to
protect us from ourselves, which in the process not only constrains
legitimate business, removes sources of revenue from the state coffers,
but perhaps more importantly denies the citizen the basic right of
choice! "Moral legislation," such as that upheld by the
South Carolina Supreme Court in outlawing video gaming, presupposes
that the average citizen is either too dimwitted to make an intelligent
decision about his entertainment, or so personally woefully inadequate
as to require paternalistic governmental intervention. Either way
I find this rather insulting! And unsettling!
"Prohibition," was perhaps the most notable failure of "moral
legislation" in the annals of American jurisprudence; a failure
so profound that its' passage resulted in not only a vast increase
in crime, millions of dollars in lost revenues, immense costs of enforcement,
and the highly dubious distinction of creating criminals out of a
large percentage of heretofore law-abiding citizens! With "Prohibition's"
repeal a lesson should have been learned. Hardly! Our Federal, state,
and local governments continue to pursue policies that whittle away
at the rights of individuals and businesses to manage their own affairs,
often in the face of referendums and legislation approved overwhelmingly
by voters!
"Nay," you say, "how can that be?" I need only
to point out the recent Medical Marijuana Initiative in California,
passed by a majority of voters, allowing citizens to purchase medicinal
marijuana under a doctor's advice. All well and good you might think.
Not so! The Federal government is prepared to prosecute those doctors
who give such advice, and many local authorities, incensed that the
"ill informed public" could actually vote their convictions,
initiated lawsuits to block the legislation. Failing this, they have
publicly stated that they will continue to arrest those in possession
of the "evil weed" whether or not they have a prescription.
"We'll let the courts sort it out," says the Sheriff of
Orange County, "our policy is to continue interdiction!"
I bring this up only as an example of how "do-gooders" and
"those that know best" can circumvent the will of the people
and dictate how we must lead our lives.
Another failure is "the war on drugs," rather than initiating
government regulation of controlled substances, our lawmakers have
seen fit to spend billions of taxpayer money to maintain an unworkable
bureaucracy which has failed to stem the flow of drugs, promoted corruption,
and made criminals out of recreational users whose only desire is
to be left alone to enjoy their "panacea" of choice. Witness
our prisons, filled with those who are "victims" of victimless
crimes, incarcerated not because they are a menace to society, but
because they had the temerity to partake of a substance that our government
has deemed inappropriate!
And how does this affect you as a gamer? You are subject to the vagaries
of "moral legislation" each time an interest group influences
your legislators. You are at the mercy of those who want to dictate
how you lead your lives and what decisions you are allowed to make:
but, you have a choice, and complacency is not one of them. Tell your
legislators how you feel. Communicate, and do not allow the special
interest groups to make your decisions for you. That is the only way
you can continue to have the personal freedoms guaranteed to you by
our Constitution!
Of course I'm only speaking from a personal point of view. Who am
I question the motives of such august bodies as a state supreme court
or the Federal government? I am only a small voice of concern; a voice
that may not be heard until it's much too late, but that, my friends,
is what it's all about. We may not really care what happens to Leisure
Time Casinos, after all, they're just another business forced into
bankruptcy by local statutes, but their plight should be a message
to us all. If we want to preserve our freedom of choice we have to
be prepared to make our views known and refuse to let a minority of
"do-gooders" set the standards by which we have to live.
After all, we live in the greatest country in the world, with rights
guaranteed by our Constitution, let's not let it slip away. Voice
your concerns and tell your legislators and representatives how you
feel, and most importantly, continue to be aware!
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