COLUMBUS, Ohio (RNS) The United Methodist Church announced Thursday (Oct. 1) that it was organizing a campaign to fight Issue 3, a proposal that would allow four casinos to be built in Ohio.
“It is a very flawed constitutional amendment that will bring harm to the citizens of the state of Ohio and will not bring the economic development that they claim,” said the Rev. Deanna Stickley-Miner of the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Stickley-Miner said that among all religious voting blocs, the Methodist church has the highest percentage of registered voters in Ohio. She said organizers of the effort will place 10,000 signs in the yards of church members and places of worship and launch an e-mail campaign that they believe will produce a million votes against Issue 3.
At a news conference, Methodist Bishop Bruce Ough called casinos predatory and a threat to Ohio families, and he said they won’t help the state recover from its economic troubles.
Stickley-Miner said the casino amendment does not mandate that money from cash wagering be taxed, which could severely undercut the lofty estimates supporters of Issue 3 are promising from a 33 percent state tax attached to the proposal.
“Most slot machines run on cash and as the language stands, that money is not taxable,” she said. “And there is nothing in the amendment that bars them from allowing cash games.”
Issue 3 backers disagree.
The church group also questioned whether the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police — which has long opposed gambling initiatives — switched its position because it has been promised money.
The FOP on Thursday took offense at the suggestion its endorsement was bought. The amendment does promise a portion of gambling revenues be set aside for police training.
“That money doesn’t go to the FOP or its members, it goes to communities throughout the state so that they can continue to train law enforcement officers and thus provide better protection for their citizens,” FOP Treasurer Mark Drum said in a prepared statement from the organization.
