Fordice opposes gambling ban; Musgrove, Bryan wary of initiative

"I'm totally opposed, vociferously opposed," the governor said Wednesday. "You know what a vociferous advocate of economic development I am. If you outlaw gambling at this point ... and pull the rug out from under them, that is confiscating their property."

Elizabeth Stoner, an aide to state Rep. Charlie Smith, I-Eupora, filed the initiative last month. Religious and political activists backing the initiative must collect 98,336 signatures of registered voters to put the issue on the state ballot.

If the signatures are collected and certified by circuit clerks by Oct. 7, the issue would appear on the November 1999 ballot. If anti-gambling advocates miss the October deadline, they still could place the issue on the November 2000 ballot.

A Hinds County judge is expected to rule by Friday on challenges filed by casino and business interests that claim the wording of Stoner's ballot question and summary fail to meet statutory and constitutional requirements.

Pro-gambling forces contend Stoner's petition falsely states that the amendment would not reduce state revenues and fails to identify programs that would have to be cut. The judge can approve, rewrite or throw out Stoner's initiative.

Fordice has been a staunch advocate of the voter initiative process, strongly supporting a petition drive this year that put legislative term limits on the 1999 ballot.

Fordice said he supports Stoner's right to circulate petitions to place the anti-gambling issue on the ballot, but he also personally opposes the concept of the initiative and hopes it fails.

Fordice said it would be wrong to ban an industry that has invested more than $3 billion in the state. He based his feelings on the possible loss of casinos' property rights, which he says doesn't conflict with his gambling opposition. He voted twice against legalized gambling in Vicksburg and believes the industry has tarnished the town.

"I don't know how I would feel if I was a Coast resident," Fordice told The Sun Herald newspaper of Gulfport-Biloxi.

"They all look tawdry. Isn't that what gambling looks like? What does Las Vegas look like? It doesn't look like the cultural center of the world," he said.

Two other high-ranking gambling opponents, Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and state Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, also expressed concern Wednesday about a gambling prohibition, with Musgrove warning that such a ban might cause more problems than it would solve.

Musgrove would not say if he supports or opposes the initiative, but he did warn that a gambling prohibition could cause serious problems for the state.

Musgrove said he believes Mississippi should spend its energy "regulating the industry effectively and minimizing the social impact it has on our communities rather than wreaking havoc on areas like the Gulf Coast."

Musgrove said he personally opposes casino gambling because of social problems it creates. He has known several people who have wrestled with money difficulties because of a gambling problem.

But, he said, "the sudden elimination of gaming at this point may create even more problems, including rapid unemployment and severe economic upheaval in many communities."

Bryan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee - which considers most gambling legislation, is an outspoken critic of both the initiative process and casinos.

"I do not think initiatives are a good idea," Bryan said. "Generally, the result is one's first impression of an issue and I know that many a time I've changed my first impression of an issue after I've thought about it."

Although Bryan believes Mississippi could survive without taxes generated by the state's casino industry, he said it will be difficult to outlaw casinos this late in the game.

Casinos in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year generated $225.5 million in state and local taxes, according to State Tax Commission figures.

"If you put it up to a vote 10 years ago, it would not get the support," Bryan said. "Things have changed. They've got a foothold here. The only way I know to phrase it is it's difficult to unscramble eggs."

State Rep. Danny Guice Jr., R-Ocean Springs, believes the initiative is dangerous. Guice is expected to chair a subcommittee of the House Constitution Committee that will study the issue during the 1999 legislative session.

"The gaming industry needs to be aware how dangerous it is," he said. "It already has had a chilling effect on people wanting to invest money. They don't want to invest millions of dollars if (casinos) are not going to be here."

Mississippi's initiative law gives the Legislature a change to offer an alternative proposal to be placed on the ballot with the original initiative to be considered by voters.

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