YOUR "CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO GAMBLE"
Yet another fundamental human right is in danger and here's why:
The Bush administration dismissed as "deeply flawed" a World Trade Organisation decision that the US has no right to ban cross-border gambling on the internet.The case is being watched around the world, not just because it involves the multibillion-dollar international gambling industry, but also because it is the first that the WTO has taken up concerning internet commerce. Many countries are also skittish over what some see as the WTO's intrusiveness in areas of domestic law.
...The US immediately said it would appeal, arguing that the decision set a new precedent for judicial activism at the WTO and threatened to insert the 148-nation trade body into domestic deliberations over laws affecting moral issues such as gambling and prostitution. A senior US trade official said the administration "fundamentally rejects" an assertion within the WTO ruling that countries didn't have an explicit right to limit services affecting public morals.
The official added that even if the ruling was upheld, it wouldn't force any change in federal or state gambling rules.
Au contraire. Haven't our current Specter-friendly Supreme Court Justices signaled a position 180 degreees opposite of this legal view -- that we must actually begin to fundamentally embrace the opinions of other countries and the world when determining what our Constitution now says regarding moral issues? And that failing to consult various international norms is the true deeply flawed thinking? Haven't they made it clear that they expect lawmakers to consult and consider international laws before determining what our own laws must be regarding morality?
I believe the answer is yes, yes and yes. So it looks like this appeal is meaningless and the Supreme Court should override the Administration's position and "preserve" our Constitutional Right to Gamble. Government-run lotteries will most likely be declared an illegal racket that restricts our freedom of choice. Plus, the failure of the court to uphold Internet gambling rights would clearly be discrimination against those who are locationally disadvantaged and don't live near Las Vegas, Atlantic City, the Mississippi River or Indian reservations.
UPDATE: On a more serious note, has anyone asked recently what Arlen Specter's position is on Judges using international norms and laws to divine what our Constitition says? I'm assuming he's all for it based on his past comments regarding Scottish Law, but this is a question that should be explored now prior to his becoming Chairman of the Sen. Judiciary Committee.