LeAnna Cumber: Legitimizing illegal gaming operators will hurt public safety
This year Jacksonville shut down several illegal internet gaming cafés or adult arcades, which promote illegal gambling. It is not all that surprising that where there is money to be made, there are people willing to break the law to get it. Yes, criminals — by definition — will find ways to circumvent and break the law.
This fact, however, does not justify throwing our hands up and giving in to lobbyists’ demands to legalize adult arcades. To be clear, what it does justify is the complete and full support of the public for our law enforcement officers who continue to identify and shut down these illegal businesses.
Unfortunately, we have a new proposal in the city council that rewards people for flagrantly disobeying the law instead of putting public safety first. As a mom of two young kids, I can relate to such a tactic. My son would love this line of thinking: “Hey mom you know I am going to sneak Xbox time so why don’t you just allow me to play whenever I want, rather than force me to break the rules?”
This rationale does not work in our house and it certainly should not be tolerated in this city.
If we are serious about tackling crime in Jacksonville, we must take a hardline stance against businesses that harm our community, not find new ways for them to operate legally. In 2019, I filed a bill calling for the immediate closure of all illegal adult arcades. I did this because these businesses pose hazards to health and safety, making them a clear public nuisance. Adult arcades are magnets for crimes like robbery and drug trafficking, among others.
These illegal businesses generate hundreds of calls to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) every month. This is a heavy burden on our already over-stretched law enforcement. In fact, research found that over a five-year period, there were 28,000 calls placed to JSO from the 100 or so adult arcades that existed throughout the city prior to 2019.
Legalizing even 20 of these operations would only make increasing public safety more challenging. I am proud to have led the fight three years ago to deem these illegal gambling businesses a public nuisance and give our local law enforcement the legal tools to shut them down permanently.
Aside from the public safety concerns noted above, the proposal that will come before the full council for a vote over the next several weeks conflicts with the Florida Constitution, existing Florida Statute and local ordinance. In fact, the Florida Gaming Control Commission, which will be seated on July 1, was created in part to ensure the proliferation of adult arcades does not happen again in the State of Florida.
We do not have the authority to overrule the state constitution or act in place of the gaming commission. In short, the new legislative push will take Jacksonville backward and erase any public safety gains we made when we shut down these illegal operations for good.
I will always use my vote on the city council to fight for a safer Jacksonville. We must move forward — not backward.
LeAnna Cumber, Jacksonville City Council, District 5
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: LeAnna Cumber: Legitimizing illegal gaming will hurt public safety
