This is interesting to me, because I don't know of anyone who knows my moral position on gambling, just as I do not genuinely know that of any of the other Commissioners. I admit that I do have strong moral opinions about many things, and just as that does not disqualify me, it will not shape our study in this Commission. We have not been tasked by Congress to examine the moral implications of gambling. As I understand the law, we've been tasked to assess the economic and social impacts of gambling. Now, let's be clear about this.
Morality is important.
Good public policy should include a moral perspective. We need only look to our own history as a nation and how often America's course was determined by actions taken because they were simply just the right thing to do. I will challenge, however, religious organizations and leaders to begin a dialogue about the moral implications of gambling, as we do our work here. This dialogue will be helpful to our elected representatives as they consider gambling in the future and the recommendations we present in two years. And those issues are of great importance today.