Seminary renews casino opposition

Seminary renews casino opposition
Board votes 'overwhelmingly' to reaffirm previous statement against local casino.


The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg has come out in opposition to a local casino proposal by renewing a statement it issued five years ago about a previous project.

The seminary's board of directors met on Tuesday and Wednesday and voted "overwhelmingly" to reaffirm a statement it issued in May 2005 opposing the development and operation of a legalized gambling facility in the Gettysburg area, according to a news release the seminary sent Thursday.

The board went ahead with the vote after being informed that its 2005 statement was being quoted by organizations expressing opposition to a new proposal for a casino near Gettysburg.

With the recommendation of the 28-member board's executive committee, and a report on the nature, scope and location of the new proposal, the full board voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm its previous statement, according to the release.

The board's 2005 statement was issued in regard to a proposal by Gettysburg businessman David LeVan to build a slots casino near routes 30 and 15 in Straban Township. That proposal, among the first submitted following the state's legalization of slot machines, was rejected by the state Gaming Control Board, in part because of apparent local opposition.

Earlier this year, LeVan announced a new plan to open a gaming resort featuring slots and table games at the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center along Emmitsburg Road, south of Gettysburg in Cumberland Township. In order to get a license to run the facility as a casino, LeVan and his business partner Joseph Lashinger must beat out a number of applicants who have proposed projects in other parts of the state.

An opinion poll commissioned recently by LeVan's group, and a separate poll conducted earlier by The Evening Sun, indicate the proposal might be met locally with less resistance this time around, and that the majority of those surveyed actually favor the project or are at least unopposed.

David LaTorre, the spokesman for LeVan's proposed Mason Dixon Resort, cited those findings in his response to the seminary's renewed opposition

"We certainly respect the position of the seminary, as well as the opinions of the overwhelming majority of Adams County residents who do support the project," he said.

The seminary's anti-casino position stems from what was referred in the news release the underlying economic injustice of legalized gambling, the hidden costs to the social fabric and historic inappropriateness for the Gettysburg area.

Over the last century, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has studied and opposed gambling as means of raising funds, both within the church and in the greater community, the news release states.

The statement paints a dire image of casinos, saying they can lead to higher crime rates, inflate infrastructure needs and lead to gambling addictions that can tear families apart. It also states the seminary's opinion that a casino is a poor fit for Gettysburg because of its historical stature and a local economy that thrives on tourism.

"For Gettysburg to host a gambling facility of any kind is to cheapen and diminish the symbolic value of this place and to abandon the historic witness it plays in American history," according to the statement. "Gambling does not offer any healthy enhancement to those who visit this place."