Miss. Journalists Duke It Out on History of Gambling Votes
by Allie Martin
October 3, 2005
(AgapePress) - The editor of the official newspaper of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board is blasting a columnist for a recent article regarding the voting record of Baptist lawmakers on the issue of legalized gambling. In an opinion piece last week in the Jackson, Mississippi, daily paper The Clarion-Ledger, Sid Salter examined how Southern Baptist lawmakers in the state capital have voted on the gambling issue. Salter wrote that while many Southern Baptists oppose a move by gaming interests to move casinos inland in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Baptist majority that dominated the state legislature in 1990 -- when gaming was legalized in the Magnolia State -- did not oppose the move.
Slater claims that for Baptists in the state to oppose legislation that would allow casinos to rebuild further inland now is akin to "a church fighting to stop a grocery store destroyed by a tornado from rebuilding because it sells beer."
But William Perkins, editor of The Baptist Record, says the vote 15 years ago to legalize gambling has no bearing on the current situation.
"We fail to understand what a 15-year-old vote has to do with the year 2005," Perkins says. "The newspaper for which Mr. Salter works ... was once considered one of the most racist papers in the nation, if not the most racist. So ... every time they have an article that has anything to do with race, perhaps we should point out their well-documented history of racism."
According to Perkins, Baptists in the state have not wavered in their opposition to legalized gambling -- despite Salter's comments.
"Of course it would be disappointing to have any Baptist vote in favor of any gambling issue, but I think it's important to point out that the Mississippi Baptist Convention has not called for anyone's defeat," says the Baptist editor. "All we have done is call on Mississippi Baptists to contact their legislator and tell them how they feel about gambling in Mississippi."
A vote is expected soon in Mississippi's legislature on a proposal to allow casinos to move as much as 1,500 feet inland. But Perkins says a statewide referendum should be held to allow Mississippi residents to vote on any land-based gambling proposals. Most of the casinos along the state's Gulf Coast suffered extensive damage in late August when Hurricane Katrina struck the area.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
