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Group launches campaign against lottery scholarship initiative Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Opponents of a proposed state lottery for college scholarships began their so-called "Truth Campaign" on Wednesday, initially focusing on churches and some 10,000 church-goers in a grassroots effort to defeat Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's proposed constitutional amendment. Foes fully expect the measure to make the November general election ballot, and the opening salvos against it will include sermon outlines and other information being provided to houses of worship, said Jerry Cox, president of the Christian conservative Family Council Action Committee. "Obviously that's the starting point because that is the base, but it's going to take more than simply the religious church community, I believe, to defeat this measure," Cox said at a state Capitol news conference. "We believe as the truth gets out that people will vote against it." The group also plans to release five separate reports on problems with the proposed state lottery amendment by the end of July, Cox said. The campaign will likely include some television, radio and newspaper advertising near the November election, he said. "Individuals in every state with a lottery will tell you that none of those lotteries delivered what was promised," Cox said. He also challenged supporters of the lottery amendment to a public debate, a gesture Halter later said he welcomed. "I'd love to have a wide-ranging discussion or debate," he said, adding any debate should include the high cost of a college education, the low percentage of adult Arkansans with college degrees and the link between a college degree and a higher income. Halter's Hope for Arkansas Committee, which has already had the proposed constitutional amendment's ballot title and name certified by the attorney general, has gathered "tens of thousands" of signatures and expects to have the 78,000 necessary by the July 7 deadline, Halter said. The committee has received more than $300,000 in pledges and has hired a Michigan firm, Voter Outreach, Inc., to help gather signatures. The lieutenant governor estimates a state lottery would generate $100 million a year for scholarships to two- and four-year colleges and universities in the state. Under his proposal, proceeds would be placed in a trust and would be spent only on the lottery's operating expenses and on scholarships. The measure would leave it to the Legislature to promulgate rules governing the program. Arkansas is one of eight states that does not have a state-run lottery. Halter unsuccessfully lobbied the Legislature last year to refer the lottery proposal to voters. Cox praised lawmakers Wednesday, saying they "understand it moves the role of state government from that being the protector of the poor to being a predator on the poor by encouraging them to gamble their little bit of money under the false hope that somehow they might win the lottery." John Thomas, attorney for the Family Council Action Committee, said during Wednesday's news conference that the proposed lottery "puts the Arkansas state government in the gambling business, which means encouraging its citizens to gamble and then hoping they lose." Thomas said most of the students in Georgia and Tennessee who have received scholarships from lotteries in those states would have gone to college anyway. Many students lose their scholarships because they can't meet the grade requirements, he added. Robert Smith, pastor of Word of Outreach Christian Center and Academy in Little Rock, said the poor and under-educated often are the ones who buy most of the lottery tickets. Smith said it was important for churches to take a lead when "spiritual authority and governmental authority clash" to avoid families being torn between the spiritual and the secular. "People in government, law, business, whatever they actively engage in ... are the byproduct of what they are taught by their ministers," he said. "Often times, the congregant, they're the byproduct of user-friendly ministries that don't tell it all together like it is." Asked if Halter, who is Catholic, attends a "user friendly" ministry, Smith said: "If any at all." Halter said later he had never heard the phrase "user-friendly" used before to describe the Catholic Church. He said there are people of all faiths who support his proposal. "The fact is, there are a number of studies that indicate people from all income ranges purchase lottery tickets," he added. "For those who don't wish to purchase a ticket, they don't have to." ------- On the Net: www.voteagainstthelottery.com www.hopeforarkansas.org/ |
