Religious groups oppose legislation to expand and tax gambling in Alabama

Religious groups oppose Alabama gambling expansion

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Religious organizations are lining up to fight legislation that would expand and tax gambling in Alabama.

At a news conference Wednesday in Montgomery, the president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, the Rev. Jimmy Jackson, called gambling “an evil” that the Legislature should stop.

The director of the Alabama Citizen Action Program, the Rev. Joe Godfrey, said he opposes letting Alabama citizens vote on expanding gambling. He said operators and machine manufacturers would spend millions of dollars on the referendum, and opponents couldn’t match that.

The chairman of the Houston County Commission, Mark Culver, watched the news conference. Culver advocates a referendum. He said Alabama voters are smart enough to make up their own minds about gambling.