Action Alert: PRESS CONFERENCE OPPOSING GAMBLING SET FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 29
SCBAPTIST PUBLIC POLICY
**ACTION ALERT*
PRESS CONFERENCE OPPOSING GAMBLING SET FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 29, AT 2:00PM IN THE STATEHOUSE LOBBY
On Tuesday, April 22, the Revenue Policy Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the three bills being considered to promote gambling. H4176 will establish a commission to permit and regulate casinos. H3625 will establish a commission to permit and regulate online sports betting. H3279 will allow pari-mutuel betting on horse racing. The room was packed with those who are promoting all three of these bills. I was among the handful of people who testified about dangers of gambling.
These bills are gaining traction in the Legislature. What would have been unthinkable a few years ago is now gaining support as a way of advancing economic success in depressed areas of our state and providing additional tax revenue for state government,
There will be a press conference this coming Tuesday, April 29, at 2:00pm in the lobby at the Statehouse between the House and Senate chambers. I am working with Palmetto Family, Faith Wins, and other groups to encourage people to join us for this press conference. One of our goals is to get 100 pastors to attend. Parking (metered) should be available along both sides of Assembly Street and along Sumter Street adjacent to the Statehouse.
If you can join us, please come. Our legislators need to see and hear there is real opposition to allowing South Carolina to profit off the losses of those who can least afford to pour their resources into gambling. All forms of gambling are additive. “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15). “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction ( I Timothy 6:9). The word desire or desires appears three times in these two verses. The desire to obtain without pain or investment or work leads to addiction and destruction. For those who put their trust in instant riches through chance, the brass ring is always just out of reach.
Please join us. This is not a protest. It is a press conference speaking the truth of God’s Word to those who will listen. It is a time when you can come and stand (you will not be asked to speak) and a time when you can connect with your legislator. Ultimately, influence comes through relationships. Come and stand with us, and then, it you have time, sit down with your legislator and get to know them. Pray with them and share God’s word. You can find your legislator here.
He must increase, I must decrease,
Tony Beam
SCBaptist Policy Consultant
