St. Louis MetroVoice August 2004 On-line Edition

On August 3rd voters around the State of Missouri will be going to the polls to choose candidates within their chosen political parties who (should they win their election) will go on to represent their parties in the upcoming November 2nd General Elections.
�� Along with the Primary candidates on the ballot, there will be various city and county proposals put before the voters and, this year, there will also be two very important State Constitutional Amendments that will be appearing on the ballot.

State Constitutional Amendments
�� State Constitutional Amendment 1, will allow voters to decide whether or not the corruption riddled, life and family destroying blight of gambling should be allowed in Rockaway Beach, Missouri. Rockaway is not even a stones throw away from the home of a multitude of wholesome, family oriented entertainment and vacation sites in Branson, Missouri. The MetroVoice strongly urges voters to VOTE �NO� on this amendment.

The second Constitutional Amendment that will be on the ballot (Amendment 2) is one which strengthens and clarifies existing state law regarding the God ordained and sanctified institution of marriage. This extremely important amendment makes it perfectly clear that ONLY the union of one man and one woman shall constitute a valid and state recognized marriage in Missouri. The actual amendment language reads: �Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended so that to be valid and recognized in the State of Missouri is only the union of one man and one woman.� The MetroVoice strongly urges voters to VOTE �YES� on the marriage amendment.

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St. Louis County Citizens Mobilize
To Put Casino Expansion to a Vote
Commentary by Jim Day

On June 29, 2004, the St. Louis County Council voted 5-2 in favor of entering into an agreement with Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. to build and operate a new 300 million dollar casino in Lemay, MO � without voter approval!
�� On Wednesday, July 7th, some 1,500 signatures were delivered to the St. Louis County Council by Mark Andrews, founder of Casino Watch, which put the Council's agreement on temporary hold. The purpose of that hold, is to allow Casino Watch, in accordance with county statutes, time to gather signatures to put a proposal on the November 2004 General Election Ballot, that will allow the citizens of St. Louis County to decide whether or not they want yet another casino in the St. Louis area. In essence, the question that will be on the November ballot � provided enough petition signatures are obtained -- will say, "Shall a new casino be allowed in South St. Louis County?"
�� However, to even allow voters the opportunity to answer this question, a minimum of 25,000 signatures must be gathered proportionately from all seven St. Louis County districts and those signatures must be certified as registered voters in St. Louis County. Casino Watch, along with several other organizations that will be helping in this effort, need some 49,000 signatures to assure acceptance of the initiative as a safe guard against possible errors such as illegible signatures, unregistered voters, etc. � The signed petitions must be in the hands of the organizations NOT LATER THAN THURSDAY, AUGUST 12TH to be filed with the St. Louis County Board of Elections.

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