I’m pretty surprised that there hasn’t been a coup in cougar country after the recent actions of the Washington State congress. Almost in complete disregard for the sentiments of its citizens, Washington State has gone ahead and passed legislation making it illegal for any resident of the state to gamble online. That means, no poker, no slots, no blackjack no nothing. Read more.
It’s a big fuck you to the online gambling industry and a slap in the face to the citizens of Washington State whose basic freedoms to spend their hard earned money as they like, have in my opinion, been violated. Worse yet is the stiff punishment in store for any resident caught engaging in any form of online gambling. No, it’s not a fine or a slap on the wrist, online gambling in Washington State will now get you thrown in the Big House for up to ten. Worse still, the state is labeling the offense as a Class C felony, a felony applicable to sex offenders. I’m wondering if somehow Washington State somehow came under Chinese rule, because this is downright outrageous.
So let me get this straight, in Washington State, there are licenses for the open-carry of fire arms in public places with a few exceptions, but you can basically carry a concealed firearm pretty much anywhere. So basically, you can pack heat on the reg, but if you get caught playing a little online poker the police will hem you up in an instant. That makes a lot of sense. Here’s the other thing that I’m still shaking my noggin about, Washington State has a shitload of brick and mortar casinos and even a state lottery. Is there any legislation against any of these? No way.
To me, this isn’t about the injustices or the two faced stance towards gambling the state has adopted. This is about freedom. Isn’t America supposed to be the land of the free? Let’s hope it’s still the home of the brave, and that people of Washington State stand up for their rights. The danger with the passage of a law like this is a possible domino affect and the next thing you know the state is pretty much a dictatorship. I always thought America was about less government control. Maybe I’m the idiot.
Completely banning online gambling is not a viable solution. It will be interesting to see how the state will enforce the law on this. Given how quick they were to shove aside basic rights and freedoms, perhaps they will enact a monitoring device on all in state computers to monitor which internet sites people visit. As soon as a resident goes onto an online gaming site a red siren goes off and police smash through the windows. Sound crazy? About as crazy as passing laws governing what people can and can’t spend their money? Right now, it seems anything goes, so is it that far fetched for the Washington State government to infringe even further on individual’s rights?
