Raphael Talisman/The Gazette
Bishop Randolph Gurley, senior pastor of The Tabernacle Church in Laurel, gives a sermon against the slots referendum on Sunday morning.
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"If you build a big casino full of slot machines next to an area that's depressed, let me tell you who's going to be in the casino playing the slot machines — it's the people that can't afford it," the speaker intoned.
But what made this speech particularly compelling was that the voice behind it, the Bishop Randolph Gurley, senior pastor of The Tabernacle Church in Laurel, was using his pulpit Sunday to warn his congregation of the dangers of legalizing slot machines. And, he had a lot of clerical company.
The decision to collectively sermonize on the divisive slots referendum draws some comparisons with a battle being waged nationally by a number of ministers who recently defied a federal ban on campaigning by nonprofit groups. In the process, they willingly put their tax-exempt status at risk. But there's an important difference that apparently puts the local ministers on safe footing.
The Christian ministers from California and 21 other states delivered overtly political sermons or endorsed presidential candidates.
The Tabernacle and other churches, however, are legally allowed to take a position on a referendum topic, said Rob Boston, senior policy analyst for the organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
"According to the IRS guidelines, topic-based advocacy is OK, as long as they refrain from endorsing or speaking out against a candidate," Boston said.
In 1954, Congress made it illegal for tax-exempt groups to publicly support or oppose political candidates. Now, the conservative legal group Alliance Defense Fund, with the participation of some clergy, is challenging the IRS rules addressing the issue.
For Gurley and the other local ministers, the slots issue is one of morality.
In his sermon, he called gambling "legalized stealing," "a fantasy of seduction" and "a parasite that drains society." He urged congregation members to vote against legalized slots.
"People are spending their money trying to hit the jackpot," he said, "always thinking ‘I'm going to hit the big one on the next one that comes along.' When November comes around, go to the voting polls as Christians, but also as responsible caring members of the community."
Still, not every clergy member is opposed to the slots referendum.
The Rev. John Crestwell of the Davies Memorial Universalist Unitarian Church in Camp Springs favors the slot machines, saying the benefits outweigh the risks.
"It's an issue for the good of the greatest number of people," he said. "Will the slot machines create a negative impact that is greater than money for education? That's the question to ask. The bad, of course, is addiction and people spending their paychecks, but the good is money for schools."
Crestwell added that there is "nothing sinful about a slot machine."
"A church is free to take whatever stance they want," he said. "But, I would say if you take a stance, it should be a social stance — look at the positives and negatives of it."
The fact that a good share of projected slots revenue would go into a trust fund for public education complicates the issue for many.
Dan Kaufman, spokesman for the Maryland State Teachers Association, said the claims that gambling will bring an increase in poverty, crime and addiction are unsubstantiated.
"We're still waiting to see the research and data that shows that," he said. "We look at what's happened in surrounding states like Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia, and we haven't seen evidence that there's a major impact. We know there's some impact on certain individuals, but our greater responsibility is to our children."
For Laurel resident and Tabernacle congregant Kenneth Butler, Gurley's sermon solidified his stance against the slot machines.
"I identified with what he said about poor people spending the money they don't really have," he said. "They're chasing a pipe dream. It just ain't going to happen. The last thing we need is gambling in our community."
Gurley also cited organized crime and addiction as direct consequences of legalized gambling.
"A lot of people don't admit that they are addicted to gambling," he said. "If you have serious financial problems and you're borrowing money, or robbing Peter to pay Paul, you have a serious problem and you need counseling."
According to the National Counsel on Problem Gambling, 2 million Americans gamble pathologically and another 4 million to 6 million have a gambling problem.
Gurley said that gambling addiction stems from a "love of money."
"The greediness causes robbery, fraud, deceit and embezzlement," he said. "No matter what people say it increases crime. It does attract racketeers and gangsters. It increases assaults and robberies. The underworld thrives on gambling and always has."
Congregant Brian Jackson of Laurel was glad that Gurley addressed the issue, saying that he agreed with the sermon from start to finish.
"It's like playing with fire," he said. "It destroys people and sucks the money out of people, many of whom can't afford it. The people that can afford it the least are going to be the ones that are in there."
