In Washington last month, Lee Rousso decided to run for Governor in hopes of one day overturning a Washington state law that opposes online poker playing. Rousso will be running against Washington’s current Governor Christine Gregoire, whom he voted for in 2004. One of the deciding factors in Lee’s decision is the unnecessarily hard stance Gregoire is taking against online poker.
In March of 2006, Gregoire signed a law that would make online poker a Class C felony. Among many of the crimes associated with a Class C felony is possession of child pornography, threatening the governor, and torturing animals; Hardly fitting for something like playing online poker.
As of right now, Rousso is trying to challenge this ridiculous state law via a court of law. If he is unable to overturn this law through the court system he will have to turn to a different approach, namely politically.
“I’m just upset beyond words that a law like that in a country like this could become a law. It’s just flat out wrong,” Rousso said.
Rousso, a lifetime Democrat, hopes to attract a decent amount of media attention coupled with some Republican support from those who are disgusted with Washington’s current laws. Rousso isn’t the only one in Washington State who views this law as utterly ridiculous. Democrats and Republicans alike tend to find it an absurd addition to state legislation. And Rousso, who has a background in wagering and happens to lead a very successful career, plans to do whatever it takes to get this law overturned. Voters can vote for whoever they choose to and don’t have to follow party lines, thankfully. Lee Rousso remains humble about the situation, and maintains that if this law is reconsidered and eventually overturned he would quit his campaign.
“The reason I announced [my campaign] in January when I did, the first day of the legislative session, is I’m hoping to shake up the legislature and get them to revisit the issue during this legislative session,” Rousso said. “If I could get the law changed, I would pack up my tent and go home, because I would consider mission accomplished.”
Laws like the one enforced in Washington will inevitably continue to in the United States until these issues are considered while keeping our protected rights in mind.