Give him an inch, and you-know-who will take you-know-what. Arkansas approved medical marijuana for use by those among us who need it when they are sick; now certain groups are trying to get dope legalized for fun and entertainment.
The lottery used to be cash-on-hand only, but then lawmakers allowed for debit card purchases.
Back in 2018, voters of Arkansas approved a constitutional amendment that allowed the state to open four casinos. Now a group is pushing another amendment to allow for . . . 16.
Sixteen casinos. Arkansas would become Nevada. Or worse, Louisiana.
Thank goodness for the paper, or we might have missed this altogether. There is so much in the news that demands--that seizes--your attention. Something like this new casino proposal might have slipped by if not for the news side of this outfit. But there it is, Michael Wickline's story, on top of the Arkansas section on Sunday:
A private group is promoting a proposed amendment to the state constitution. It would allow the Racing Commission to issue casino licenses to 16 private companies in Arkansas. And you shouldn't worry your pretty little head about it.
That last part is inferred. Something called the Arkansas Wins in 2020 Inc. committee is proposing the amendment for the Nov. 3 ballot. Other than that, they're not saying much of anything.
Its treasurer referred questions to a Little Rock law firm. Which had no comment in an email.
Who would own the casinos? What kind of gambling are we talking about? How much would licenses cost? How much would the house (that is, the state) get in return? Do we need this language in the constitution, again? Why is this necessary even before the latest rounds of approved casinos have fully opened for business? And how are you going to get signatures to put something on the ballot when social distancing is the norm/requirement these highly contagious days?
They'll let you know.
For an organization that needs to get the word out (it must gather more than 89,000 signatures by July 3), it issues a lot of No Comments. Somebody with Arkansas Wins 2020 said they'll have a press conference at the appropriate time. Until then, reporters--and the public--are just out of luck.
Some of us are looking forward to such a news conference. Because if you-know-who takes a mile when given an inch, he also lives in the details.