NC Gambling Lawsuit

Howard Fierman is suing the state of North Carolina. It is an interesting lawsuit, because the state claims that games of chance are illegal in the state. His lawsuit claims that poker is a game of skill, not chance, and should therefore be legal. Personally, I don't care, but I think perhaps he should sue on different grounds, or perhaps another lawsuit should be started.

The law is pretty clear:

§ 14‑292. Gambling.

...any person or organization that operates any game of chance or any person who plays at or bets on any game of chance at which any money, property or other thing of value is bet, whether the same be in stake or not, shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

So Gambling on games of chance is a misdemeanor. Oh, well except for one little extra portion of that law:

This section shall not apply to a person who plays at or bets on any lottery game being lawfully conducted in any state.

So can anyone explain to me ANY logical reasoning here? If gambling is so bad that we have to punish people with a Class 2 Misdemeanor -- which is a

maximum punishment is more than 30 days but not more than six months imprisonment

then why is it NOT a bad thing when the state does it? Someone PLEASE explain to me how you can go to JAIL for 6 months if you bet $1 on the outcome of a coin toss, but if the STATE runs a numbers game that you have almost no chance of winning, then that's fine?

If gambling is bad, punish it -- no matter who does it. If it's okay, then let anyone do it! It really is that simple. That's freedom. But, of course, the Democrat-controlled North Carolina legislature is simply not interested in freedom at all.

Posted by: Ogre at 12:19 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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