Short Spots Items

                                                                     Vol. XI, No. 3, February 1998

Maine Voters Repeal Pro-Homosexual Law: The voters of Maine dealt a setback to the homosexual rights movement 10 Feb. by repealing a state law granting civil rights status to homosexuals. The referendum succeeded by a margin of about 52 to 48%. The referendum was taken on a law enacted last spring. The vote marked the second time in four months supporters of homosexual rights have lost in a statewide initiative. In November, voters in Washington defeated a homosexual rights initiative by 60 to 40%. Some opponents of homosexual rights said the two statewide results show the tide may be turning against what has appeared in recent years to be a unabated advance by the homosexual movement. "It's a huge, huge victory," said Peter LaBarbera, an analyst for the Washington-based Family Research Council. "I think people are waking up, and they are seeing that it can be beaten. It just goes to show you that homosexual triumphs are not inevitable. I think this is something that can give hope to the rest of the nation." [BP]

OK Voters Turn Down Casinos by 2-1 Margin: "Don't roll the dice," Oklahomans said 10 Feb. as they voted 2-1 against legalizing casinos. Despite fears from state educators, votes on school funding millages were not affected by the heavy "no" tally against casinos. Most millages, which provide most of the funding for public schools in Oklahoma, also passed by a 2-1 margin. The final tally on casinos was 304,349 against and 139,024 for. State Rep. Forrest Claunch, who led the fight against casinos and against a state lottery in 1994, said, "A 69-31 percent vote is a tremendous statement. It is a statement Oklahoma made; this

was not a massive media campaign. It was just conservative Christians standing up and saying, 'We don't want this.'” State Baptist leaders were among vocal casino opponents; the Baptist Messenger, for example, ran editorials and advertisements against the proposal. Barrett Duke, who addresses gambling issues for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, observed, "The vote in Oklahoma against the expansion of legalized gambling reveals once again that the majority of the citizens of the United

States do not want legalized gambling in their communities. This vote in Oklahoma reinforces a recent poll taken in Louisiana that revealed that only 16 percent of the people in that state believe that legalized gambling has had a positive impact on the state. Only a year ago 30 percent had said legalized gambling had a positive impact on the state. "As Americans become more aware of the vicious, merciless destruction that gambling wreaks in people's lives, they are doing what they know is right," Duke said. "They are voting for the health of their communities and for the future of their own children. "Soon we will begin to see grassroots efforts all over this country to end legalized gambling. When that happens, and only when that

happens, we will finally see the beginning of the end of this madness which is destroying millions of lives," Duke said. [BP]

Alcohol & Drug Abuse Involved in 80% of Nation's Jail Terms: A 281-page study issued by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University in New York found that the number of inmates in state, federal and local prisons tripled, from 500,000 to 1.7 million, between 1980 and 1996. Of that number, drug and alcohol abuse and addiction are involved in 80 percent of the incarcerations, the study said. Other key findings of the study included: The more prior convictions an individual has, the more likely the person is to be a drug abuser. In state prisons, 41 percent of first offenders have used drugs regularly, compared to 63 percent of inmates with two prior convictions and 81 percent of inmates with five or more prior convictions. Alcohol is more closely associated with crimes of violence than any other drug. It is a bigger culprit in connection with murder, rape, assault, and child and spouse abuse than any illegal drug. One of every 60 men is currently incarcerated, including one of every 14 black men and one of every 34 Hispanic men. Joseph A. Califano Jr., chairman and president of CASA, said its study found "religion and spirituality are very important components of recovery for individuals in prison, indeed with drug or alcohol problems under any circumstances." He cited Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship as an example of a faith-based program that has had "a significant impact in reducing criminal activity and recidivism." [BP]