State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-28th, issued the following statement after the Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the casino expansion bill into law:

When the governor signed the casino expansion bill today, he should have said, “See you in court,” because that’s where this issue will be for years and years.  

Has Connecticut now violated the equal protection and commerce clauses of the Constitution by refusing to consider other groups for the state’s first commercial gaming license?

State taxpayers will now be asked to pay for those significant legal bills as courts determine that answer.

Economically, it makes little sense to expand casino gambling when the Northeast faces a growing casino glut.  

Socially, the picture is even bleaker.  It is well-documented that casinos spread gambling addiction, debt, bankruptcies, broken families, and crime.

It’s a bad bet all around.

Make no mistake: A casino somewhere in Fairfield County could one day be our reality.

This is a David vs. Goliath fight.  The forces that want expanded gambling are extremely powerful, but I am proud to say that the following groups have joined me in the fight:

• Connecticut Catholic Conference
• Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ
• Episcopal Church in Connecticut
• Connecticut League of Women Voters
• Family Institute of Connecticut
• New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
• Connecticut Association for Human Services
• Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport
• Advocacy Unlimited Inc.
• Farmington Valley American Muslim Center
• Resident Bishop New England Conference of the United Methodist Church
• American Baptist Churches of Connecticut

I will continue to work with anyone who does not want to see more people’s lives ruined by expanded Connecticut gambling.  

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