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The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is a case of the government attempting to legislate morality. At a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing looking into online gambling law enforcement, the articulate poker pro Annie Duke testified.
"What's at stake here is the right of individual Americans to do what they want in the privacy of their homes without the intrusion of the government," said Duke. "More than any other value, America is supposed to be about freedom. Except where one's actions directly harm another person's life, liberty or property, our government is supposed to leave citizenry alone. Examples of Congress straying from this principle are legion, but few are as egregious as The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006."
The hearings produced a new political hero for me, Representative Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). He questioned Tom McClusky of the Family Research Council on where the line should be drawn.
: Do you think that horse racing and lotteries should be legal in the United States?
: The Family Research Council does believe that such things should be illegal.
: So, it is really not the Internet you are against. It is gambling in general. Is that right?
: Yes, that would be true, or at least unrestricted gambling such as we have with the Internet or other.
: But the lottery is restricted. You can't play if you are a child. Same thing with horse racing. But you are against that, are you not?
: Yes.
: So restricted or unrestricted, you are against it?
: Yes.
"What's at stake here is the right of individual Americans to do what they want in the privacy of their homes without the intrusion of the government," said Duke. "More than any other value, America is supposed to be about freedom. Except where one's actions directly harm another person's life, liberty or property, our government is supposed to leave citizenry alone. Examples of Congress straying from this principle are legion, but few are as egregious as The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006."
The hearings produced a new political hero for me, Representative Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). He questioned Tom McClusky of the Family Research Council on where the line should be drawn.
: Do you think that horse racing and lotteries should be legal in the United States?
: The Family Research Council does believe that such things should be illegal.
: So, it is really not the Internet you are against. It is gambling in general. Is that right?
: Yes, that would be true, or at least unrestricted gambling such as we have with the Internet or other.
: But the lottery is restricted. You can't play if you are a child. Same thing with horse racing. But you are against that, are you not?
: Yes.
: So restricted or unrestricted, you are against it?
: Yes.