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I live in Washington. I wrote and rewrote about 20 different state legislators last spring when they were contemplating passage of SB6613, and wrote them again after they passed it. I just wrote them all again yesterday asking if indeed anyone has been charged or prosecuted under RCW 9.46.240, the law that SB6613 became.
The thing that really irks me about this law is that all the other Class C felonies in Washington are crimes where other human beings are directly victimized -- either hurting them personally, or by depriving them of their property or rights in some manner.
Regarding the two new bills, I see no reason why they need to be mutually exclusive. Why can't online poker be completely decriminalized, and all other forms be reduced to misdemeanors? Personally, I would prefer all forms of online gaming to be legal, regulated and taxed, but if they feel compelled to punish some "gambling heathens," let it be online video slot players for a misdemeanor.
One other thing to note about the passage of the original law: It was originally sponsored by five Democrats. I was sorely disappointed by this. I did extensive research on the five sponsors, including multiyear looks into their campaign donors at
www.followthemoney.org. They are 100% tools of the Indian gaming industry in Washington. They even passed a law that said you can't lobby in Washington unless you have a gaming license in Washington, specifically to exclude online gaming from exerting any influence in our state.
So it doesn't matter who you are -- red, blue or green -- if your bread is buttered by B&Ms, you're no friend of ours.
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the government is a business like any other (only where bribes are more legal)