Write a Letter to the Editor

Letters to the editor are your opportunity to make your argument to thousands of voters. Speak out and explain why legalized slot machine gambling tampers with our state's Constitution, causes an increase in crime, results in more gambling addictions and won't solve the budget crisis. When writing your letter, be succinct, tell a personal story if you have one, and make sure to refer to an article published in their newspaper. Don't make your article too long, or, the newspaper might cut it down to make it fit. Put the article in your own words, but, feel free to cite some of the following facts:

• The Slots Ballot Initiative Amends the Constitution. Our Constitution is a sacred document. It doesn't make sense to forever enshrine in it the right to slot machine gambling. Let's protect the integrity of our Constitution and reject slot machine gambling.
• Fat Cat Gambling Executives Have the Most to Gain. Canada's Magna Entertainment Group and other casino operators stand to earn over $100 million of Maryland's annual take from slots.
• Slots Will Increase Crime. Former Attorney General J. Joseph Currran writes that gambling “would bring a substantial increase in crime to our State. There would be more violent crime, more crimes against property, more insurance fraud, more white collar crime, more juvenile crime, more drug- and alcohol-related crime, more domestic violence and child abuse, and more organized crime."
• Slot Machines Are Addictive. They're Financially and Emotionally Destructive. The New York Times reports, "Problem gambling doubles within 10 miles of a gambling facility, according to study published in 2004 that included a nationwide survey of 2,631 adults. This means thousands of people who do not currently have a gambling addiction would, in all probability, get hooked..." in your neighborhood!