This amendment authorizes the state to provide out of the general treasury a onetime cash payment of not more than $1,000 to veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts, or a maximum award of $5,000 to survivors entitled to benefits from a soldier killed in action, missing in action or a prisoner of war. To pay back the general treasury, the state will issue and sell bonds in the face amount of not more than $200,000,000. This is long term debt, prohibited in the Ohio Constitution, and is why an amendment is needed. In addition, the amendment creates a compensation bond retirement fund and jobs for people charged with overseeing this fund.

While the Libertarian Party of Ohio supports our troops and honors the service of veterans and their families, Issue 1 is a boondoggle that provides no real benefit to anyone except the government employees and private attorneys who will manage the fund, the investors who will receive the interest on the bonds and the big corporations that will underwrite the bonds for a fee. Obviously, the awards are a pittance that does little to help veterans or their families, while taxpayers are saddled with a debt and additional government salaries to pay. As in all similar cases, the bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of Ohio taxpayers, and taxpayers pay principle and interest to the investors.

Article VIII is the section of the Constitution that prohibits the state for incurring long term debt. Over time, legislators have inserted 24 pages of exceptions to this wise prohibition against debt, not counting the pages that will be inserted if this amendment passes. Send a message to the legislators who created this amendment that we will not tolerate making a mockery of our Constitution, and that we and future generations of Americans are already saddled with enough debt. The Libertarian Party of Ohio urges you to vote NO on Issue 1.

Issue 2 - Amend Article XIV of the Ohio Constitution to create a Livestock Care Standards Board

We oppose this amendment because it creates another state agency, which we especially oppose when created by constitutional provision. In addition to the Ohio Farm Bureau and other agri-business interests, the official public advocate for the bill is the Ohioans for Livestock Care Political Action Committee. It contends that out-of-state activist groups intend to bring an initiative to Ohio in 2010 that "proposes rigid, inflexible and impractical rules for how livestock and poultry are housed". We are sympathetic to the fear of excessive regulation, but we will examine such an initiative if and when it happens. This plan is not the way to go. Regulatory boards are always eventually captured by big contributors. Furthermore, the Board can only set standards, which the Ohio Department of Agriculture can do already. Another farmer’s group, the Ohio Farmers Union, opposes this amendment to the Ohio Constitution, and states that the amendment simply favors agribusiness and factory farming at the expense of the family farm. The Libertarian Party of Ohio agrees with the Ohio Farmer’s Union on this issue. The chances of corporate and political favoritism, along with other unintended consequences, are simply too great. The Libertarian Party of Ohio urges you to vote NO on Issue 2.  

Issue 3 - Amend Article XVI of the Ohio Constitution to allow for one casino each in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.

As Libertarians, we believe in the American principle of natural law. We have the right to engage in any activity by mutual consent with one another if not coerced by force or fraud. We do not accept that gambling is a right that can be taken away or granted by the government. While gambling can cause problems in some people’s lives, the individual must be held responsible for the consequences of their own actions, and it is not the state’s responsibility to prohibit the activity of peaceful, responsible citizens to protect the few from themselves. Even if one does not subscribe to these principles, one can no longer lay any claim to prohibition of gambling on moral grounds since the lottery provides funding to public education, and since the governor advocated slot machines at race tracks to balance the budget. The State’s position reeks of hypocrisy.

Some libertarians believed this amendment was an incremental step in the right direction and urged a favorable opinion. The Executive Committee considered their ideas, but decided that this amendment would block progress towards full legalization. It continues to put the state of Ohio in the paradoxical position of promoting an activity to bring in additional tax dollars while at the same time contending the activity is harmful. This amendment establishes a new form of corporate welfare, extending privilege to one group of business owners at the expense of others. These special interests can then use their wealth and power to keep gambling out of other areas of state that want it and to fight new extensions of gambling that threatens their privileged position. It harms the local bar or restaurant which has to compete with the casino operators, as well as the in state suppliers to the bar and restaurant industry which probably will not have the same opportunity to supply the casinos. It imposes government in a way which corrupts government and will almost certainly lead to a less successful outcome than if the activity was freely conducted.

We call for the gambling issue to be resolved once and for all, the right way. We call on the State Legislature to begin the process of a Constitutional amendment which repeals Section 6 Article XV in its entirety. These scant 123 words will not be missed. After the Article is repealed, the state legislature can begin enacting common sense regulations. Let the voters in each individual county decide whether or not to allow gambling in their own community. Create an Ohio Gaming Commission to act as an oversight body to ensure that corruption and fraud does not take place on the local level. Tax gambling like any other business. Accrue revenue to the general treasury. Allow any small business owner or entrepreneur to compete on an equal footing. The State should not be deeply involved in this industry. The state should only provide minimal regulatory oversight. The business of gambling should be returned to the free market where it belongs. The Libertarian Party of Ohio urges you to vote NO on Issue 3.