Originally published June 16 2005
Focused, self-sufficient North Dakota legislature to mull online gambling laws
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The North Dakota legislature has a reputation of being self-sufficient, from legislators who fetch their own coffee and snacks, to keeping their day jobs after they are elected, but Wired News says the low-key lawmakers who usually promote quick sessions must now take on a pretty controversial proposition: Should they legalize online gambling in their state?
Such low-key lawmaking has its advantages, says representative Al Carlson, a Fargo Republican.
For one thing, he can bring his 14-year-old nephew, Justin, to floor debates.
Yesterday, that business included a reading of the girls' high school state basketball championship results into the record.
Today's agenda, however, promises to be more controversial: The house is debating a move by representative Jim Kasper, another Republican from Fargo, to legalize Internet poker in North Dakota.
Kasper has introduced two bills that he estimates would raise $75 million in new taxes by enticing the $2 billion online-poker industry to move to the state.
The first bill, which sets up a licensing scheme, passed by a slim margin the previous week.
The current proposal, which calls for a constitutional amendment permitting online poker, is facing a vigorous debate.
"This is not the first time a powerful lobby with unlimited funds has come to persuade us to adopt a dubious gambling scheme," says representative Lawrence Klemin, a Republican from Bismarck.
He reminds his colleagues of the time the notoriously corrupt Louisiana Lottery tried to move to North Dakota after Louisiana revoked its charter - in 1889.
Indeed, the Department of Justice says online gambling violates the 1961 Wire Act, among other federal statutes.
Kasper, however, maintains that it's a matter for states to decide: "Justice is playing with a weak hand," he says.
"Democracy can be three wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for lunch," Damschen says.
After a few last appeals, debate is exhausted and the speaker calls for a vote.
Justin, whose attention has wandered, perks up when Carlson tells him to cast a yea vote.
In response to the North Dakota attorney general's request for "guidance" on the matter, the Department of Justice sends a letter reiterating its belief "that federal law prohibits gambling over the Internet."
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