In an effort to amend a ridiculous 1976 law that prompted the arrest of a 79-year-old woman from her Mount Pleasant home, a state representative proposed legalizing recreational poker games in homes. To our dismay, legislators sent the bill back to a House panel Wednesday without debate.
From a practical standpoint, this means that your Friday night poker game with a $2 buy-in is in violation of state law.
While running a casino from your apartment is probably not a good idea, prosecuting a friendly game of poker is asinine. So long as no one is making money by hosting the game - in effect, running a casino out of his home - the government has no business prohibiting it.
Though it is true the government has the right to regulate corporate activity in the state, this bill was simply about allowing "kitchen table" poker. So long as your kitchen isn't complete with a hotel and Cirque du Solleil, it's hard to argue that you are running a gambling empire.
When the chips are in a drawer next to the forks and all the beer is served straight from the fridge, the general public is hardly endangered. The only real reason not to legalize home poker is because "gambling is wrong."
Our state government should stop legislating morals and let common sense steer no-brainer situations like this.
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