.......all ILLEGALL in SOUTH CAROLINA..........as is buying a pack of playing cards on Sunday.
:WTF:
HOWEVER,
S.C. Lawmaker Pushing to Legalize Home Poker
Bill Would Make It Legal to Play in Private Socially
In South Carolina, it’s illegal to buy a deck of cards on Sunday. It’s also illegal to wear pants with back pockets, and bathe a horse in a bathtub, but Republican Representative William Scarborough isn’t tacking these outdated and ridiculous laws. He’s trying to get, in his opinion, another one changed.
This week, Scarborough introduced a bill that would allow people to play poker in their own homes.
“I’m just trying to allow people to play a friendly game of cards in their homes,” Scarborough says.
Playing many games in South Carolina, including Monopoly and any game that has an element of chance to it, is illegal. Many states still have these sorts of laws on the books, laws that were passed in a different time, some of them addressing moral concerns that, for many people, seem completely outdated and a little screwy.
For example, take this gem: It’s illegal to play pinball under the age of 18 in South Carolina.
Poker, which has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the United States in recent years, is nearly always included in these hodgepodge collections of dusty rules. Who knows when the last time a teenager got busted playing pinball in South Carolina? — but the poker laws are often randomly enforced everywhere.
In April of 2005, 18 poker players were arrested in Mount Pleasant, S.C., for playing poker at a friend’s house. All but one of the players are fighting the charges.
The bill that Scarborough introduced would amend the state’s code of laws to allow people to play “certain poker card games engaged in for the sole purpose of recreational activity.”
This may sound more than reasonable to poker buffs, but Scarborough thinks it will be a tough sale to his colleagues who represent some of the most religious and conservative people in the country.
Scarborough is working hard to let everyone know that he is against spreading gambling in his state. He doesn’t want to see cardrooms or casinos. He doesn’t want the games to spread to bars or anywhere else in the public.
He just wants people to be able to play cards in their homes. From what he has heard from the people he represents, this seems fair to them. But this may not be the case with his fellow Assembly members.
In a state that is in the heart of the Bible Belt, all of Scarborough’s colleagues are conscious of the power of the Christian conservatives in South Carolina. For these politicians, some fights just aren’t worth risking alienating this core group of voters.
Because of this — and the stigma that the word “poker” still holds in many parts of the country — Scarborough admits that his bill may not even make it through the state’s judiciary committee.
Scarborough’s colleagues may be overthinking the attitude of the people they represent on this issue, though.
“I don’t see a big backlash from the public, but I am seeing a backlash from the General Assembly,” Scarborough says.
The only thing he can do is ask the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for a fair hearing. He already has his argument planned out.
“That is the one thing I want to get across. Playing cards is not evil. Playing cards is not the root of all evil. Playing cards can be a nice, social event," he says.
Scarborough expects the Judiciary Committee to rule on his bill in two or three weeks.
But Monopoly lovers should be warned: Even if Scarborough’s law passes and is signed by the governor, it won’t change the fact that it’s still illegal to play the popular Parker Brothers game there.
The reason: It’s against the law to use fake money while playing games.
Article provided by Cardplayer.com
:WTF:
HOWEVER,
S.C. Lawmaker Pushing to Legalize Home Poker
Bill Would Make It Legal to Play in Private Socially
In South Carolina, it’s illegal to buy a deck of cards on Sunday. It’s also illegal to wear pants with back pockets, and bathe a horse in a bathtub, but Republican Representative William Scarborough isn’t tacking these outdated and ridiculous laws. He’s trying to get, in his opinion, another one changed.
This week, Scarborough introduced a bill that would allow people to play poker in their own homes.
“I’m just trying to allow people to play a friendly game of cards in their homes,” Scarborough says.
Playing many games in South Carolina, including Monopoly and any game that has an element of chance to it, is illegal. Many states still have these sorts of laws on the books, laws that were passed in a different time, some of them addressing moral concerns that, for many people, seem completely outdated and a little screwy.
For example, take this gem: It’s illegal to play pinball under the age of 18 in South Carolina.
Poker, which has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the United States in recent years, is nearly always included in these hodgepodge collections of dusty rules. Who knows when the last time a teenager got busted playing pinball in South Carolina? — but the poker laws are often randomly enforced everywhere.
In April of 2005, 18 poker players were arrested in Mount Pleasant, S.C., for playing poker at a friend’s house. All but one of the players are fighting the charges.
The bill that Scarborough introduced would amend the state’s code of laws to allow people to play “certain poker card games engaged in for the sole purpose of recreational activity.”
This may sound more than reasonable to poker buffs, but Scarborough thinks it will be a tough sale to his colleagues who represent some of the most religious and conservative people in the country.
Scarborough is working hard to let everyone know that he is against spreading gambling in his state. He doesn’t want to see cardrooms or casinos. He doesn’t want the games to spread to bars or anywhere else in the public.
He just wants people to be able to play cards in their homes. From what he has heard from the people he represents, this seems fair to them. But this may not be the case with his fellow Assembly members.
In a state that is in the heart of the Bible Belt, all of Scarborough’s colleagues are conscious of the power of the Christian conservatives in South Carolina. For these politicians, some fights just aren’t worth risking alienating this core group of voters.
Because of this — and the stigma that the word “poker” still holds in many parts of the country — Scarborough admits that his bill may not even make it through the state’s judiciary committee.
Scarborough’s colleagues may be overthinking the attitude of the people they represent on this issue, though.
“I don’t see a big backlash from the public, but I am seeing a backlash from the General Assembly,” Scarborough says.
The only thing he can do is ask the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for a fair hearing. He already has his argument planned out.
“That is the one thing I want to get across. Playing cards is not evil. Playing cards is not the root of all evil. Playing cards can be a nice, social event," he says.
Scarborough expects the Judiciary Committee to rule on his bill in two or three weeks.
But Monopoly lovers should be warned: Even if Scarborough’s law passes and is signed by the governor, it won’t change the fact that it’s still illegal to play the popular Parker Brothers game there.
The reason: It’s against the law to use fake money while playing games.
Article provided by Cardplayer.com
