| Slots battle looms on horizon in nation's capital By Melissa Lauber
UMCONNECTION STAFF Residents of Washington, D.C., may be voting this November on whether or not to build a gambling parlor on New York Avenue that is projected by its proponents to generate revenues of more than $100 million a year. The Baltimore-Washington Conference opposes this expansion of gambling in the nations capitol. 'The United Methodist Church reserves some of its strongest language for opposition to gambling,' said Associate Council Director Sandra Ferguson. 'Our Book of Resolutions recognizes it as 'a menace to society.' Gambling schemes like this one exploit some of the weakest people in our society. It must be opposed.'  | GETTY IMAGES | District of Columbia residents may have an opportunity to voteon bringing slot machines to Washington. |
On June 2, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics heard a plan to bring 3,500 slot machines to a $510-million, 14-acre 'family-oriented entertainment complex' that would be built on New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road near the National Arboretum. The proposal is titled the 'Jobs, Education, and Healthcare Lottery Expansion Initiative of 2004.' The Capital Horizon Entertainment Complex, the group behind the initiative, estimates the new development would create 1,500 permanent jobs in a part of the city starved for economic development and bring in $765 million in slots profits, of which 25 percent, or $190 million, would go to the city. An additional $24 million would come from property, employee income, sales and other taxes. To have the issue placed on the Nov. 2 ballot, backers of the project are required to collect the signatures of about 5 percent, or 17,500, of the citys registered voters by July 6. If the signatures are not collected, backers have said, they will try to bring the initiative to voters in the next citywide elections, now scheduled for 2006. Willa Kynard, a member of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Board of Christian Presence in Gods World, spoke against the proposal at the June 2 meeting. She dismisses the promises of new jobs and economic benefits for the community. 'The money from these proposals never gets where its supposed to go,' Kynard told the Washington Post. 'If you want to do something for the District, fine. But does it have to be gambling?' The Board of Christian Presence in Gods World and the United Methodist-related group NocasiNo, have fought efforts to bring legalized casino gambling to Maryland for more than a decade. Last winter, in a David-Goliath type battle, they helped defeat a $1.6 million effort by lobbyists to bring slots to the state. In June, the Board of Christian Presence brought a resolution to the annual conference session, calling on 'all United Methodist congregations in the District of Columbia to organize their members to vote against the so-called 'Jobs, Education, and Healthcare Lottery Initiative of 2004,' if approved by the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics; and pledge to coalesce with other faith groups, community groups and all people of good will to defeat this initiative, which threatens the well-being of the Washington community.' In explaining the conferences opposition, Ferguson quoted statistics from the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. Twenty-five states have lost this battle and now allow casino gambling, she said. 'Americans gamble away more than $40 billion a year, more money than they spend on movie tickets, opera and concerts combined.' Gambling has other ill side effects, Ferguson said. 'Its been shown to disrupt local businesses, attract crime, devastate families and serve as a regressive tax on people with lower incomes,' she said. 'It also drastically increases the suicide rate. The public is often not aware how many suicides are attached to slot-machines, which are one of the most seductive forms of gambling.' Each of the nine districts in the conference has two linking people whose job it is to educate and organize people around social justice and mission issues, Ferguson explained. 'We want to create a strong network that can make the churchs voice heard and have an impact.' In the Washington-Columbia District, the linking people are Kynard and the Rev. Michael Szpak, a religion-labor coordinator for the AFL-CIO. 'The people sitting in our pews have the power to make a difference. They need to speak out,' Ferguson said. 'People just cant think opposing slots is a good idea. They need to be active and make their opposition known, now.' | 
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