One of the myths about gambling in Alabama says, "Since we are going to have gambling anyway, it is best to legalize and control it." Whoa! The thought that we are going to have gambling regardless is an assumption, not a fact, not in evidence. Gambling is against the law in Alabama — that is a fact. The law has not changed.

Antigambling laws, like all other laws, should be enforced without exception or partiality. Counties, cities and individuals are not free to break the laws of the state when it suits them. If it's not legal, it shouldn't be done. If it is done in willful disregard for the law, the perpetrators should be punished.

Part two of the myth is the naïve belief that legalizing gambling is the best way to control it. Legalizing gambling does not control it. It does just the opposite. It increases the size and speed by which gambling spreads. The Organized Crime Section of the Department of Justice found that "the rate of illegal gambling in those states which have some form of legalized gambling was three times as high as those states where it was not legalized."

Residents of the state of Alabama must insist that district attorneys, attorneys general, judges, sheriffs and others duly sworn to uphold the law do so. If those persons occupying those offices cannot enforce the law, they should be removed and replaced by those who can.

Robert G. Wilkerson
Pinson