Casino Gambling

The Queens Federation of Churches believes that the New York State Council of Churches is absolutely correct in stating that "Public gambling is a moral and social evil."

As members of the Christian community in Queens, we must oppose the introduction of casino gambling in New York State, and must consider the persons and corporations involved in this project to be adversaries of our faith and moral standards.

Organized gambling is an exploitative business whereby persons are manipulated to their detriment by a system that preys upon their mental and spiritual weakness. The despair of the poor who expect no financial betterment by conventional means, the boredom of the more fortunate who have not yet learned productive outlets for their energy and capital, and the sin of greed as it exists in the rich and poor alike are among the chief incentives to gambling. Considerable suffering has already been inflicted upon our society by illegal gaming, state-sponsored lotteries, and off-track betting. We of the Queens Federation of Churches consider any deliberate extension of this suffering to be morally unconscionable.

The example of Atlantic City shows that casino gambling brings with it a host of parasite crimes, vice, and sins. In Atlantic City the introduction to casino gambling precipitated a vast increase in loan sharking, prostitution, drug trafficking, robbery, and crimes of violence. As persons concerned bout the moral climate of our society, we wish to see no such increase in any part of this state.

We therefore call upon all who deplore exploitation of persons and all who have respect for Christian morality with its emphasis on self-giving love, as opposed to avarice, to oppose the introduction of gambling casinos into New York State.