Criminal records may include bingo
It was about two weeks ago when I was confronted with one of those tough choices in life. I was pulled aside and asked to buy a $2 raffle ticket to support Dibrell Elementary’s Back-to-School Festival.
It was a maddening decision and one I didn’t take lightly. One part of me wanted to hand over $2 to benefit education and the good kids at Dibrell. The other part was reluctant to violate state law and risk criminal charges for supporting an illegal operation. I was stuck in what’s called a quagmire.
I decided to pass on buying the raffle ticket and it turned out to be a smart move. A few days later, the state of Tennessee announced it’s cracking down on the schools, charities and non-profit organizations which choose to raise money through things such as raffles and bingo.
I don’t know if the state has a code name for this crackdown, but I’m unofficially calling it Operation Little Old Lady. Who else could Tennessee officials be targeting with this sudden interest in bingo?
In the words of our own district attorney, Dale Potter, “The state is taking a hard stand on this one.” Potter says he is making the announcement locally out of the goodness of his heart. He doesn’t want charities here to innocently sell raffle tickets not knowing such a practice is a felony punishable by one to two years in jail and a $50,000 fine.
I’m all for playing hardball when it comes to crime, but I have to wonder what state officials are thinking. Are 70-year-old seniors threatening the safety of society by calling out B-59? Should non-profit agencies that are just trying to make ends meet be treated like criminals? Apparently so.
However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the most ridiculous aspect of this new crackdown.
Selling raffle tickets and holding bingo games can be a felony, or it can be perfectly legal according to the Charitable Gaming Implementation Act which was signed earlier this year.
To have legalized bingo, an organization is first required to fill out the necessary paperwork and submit it to the state. The application then must be reviewed by the Division of Charitable Solicitations, which is an actual department and not one I just made up.
From there, the application is submitted to the General Assembly and then approved by legislators before selling raffle tickets gets the legal green light.
For a state fighting to limit the size of its government and get a grasp on needless spending, it doesn’t make sense to establish more red tape. Now the state wants its employees to juggle paperwork to OK selling raffle tickets, which is what everyone was already doing without the paperwork.
I think the best way for the state to handle the raffle ticket and bingo issue is to politely look the other way. Sure, there may technically be laws on the books forbidding bingo, but take a look at other often-ignored rules according to Robert Pelton, the author of “Loony Laws”:
• In Denver, it’s illegal to let your neighbor borrow your vacuum cleaner.
• In some parts of Illinois, it’s illegal for dogs and cats to smoke cigars.
• In Miami, men can’t wear a strapless gown.
• In Michigan, a woman can’t cut her hair without her husband’s permission.
For some reason, these laws are still on the books yet largely ignored. And we have similarly silly laws right here in Tennessee that are never enforced.
Yet when it comes to playing bingo for charity, this state won’t tolerate it. If only burglars and drug dealers had so much to worry about.
James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at standard@blomand.net.