The Florida House Select Committee on Gaming Friday morning voted to shut down Internet cafes in Florida by a 15-1 vote.
But the bill, and the vote, includes maquinitas and adult game rooms, activities that have existed unhampered in South Florida for decades.
The bill is moving fast in the House as a result of the gambling investigation that led to the arrests this week of nearly 60 people associated with the nonprofit group Allied Veterans of the World, which is one of the main operators of Internet cafes in the state.
Here's what some representatives on the committee had to say, in word and in video:
Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville: Many of those in Jacksonville opened their hearts to Internet cafes because they believed that the money spent in them was going to a great cause: betterment of the lives of the many veterans who live in Jacksonville. But if the allegations that have been raised in the last few days are true, and we must allow our system of justice to determine the voracity of those allegations, then many citizens of Jacksonville were deceived."
Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek: While well-intentioned and I understand what you want to do, it seems like this is nothing but what we consistently seem to do around the Florida House and that is a knee-jerk reaction to something that took place and what took place is three days ago arrests were made and that happens all the time in the state of Florida. But we dont come up here three days later and always try to either change the law or clarify it. The fact is that nothing we do today will affect those prosecutions from those arrests three days ago.
Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa: This House of Representatives has acted in the past to shut down these establishments that are preying on the elderly and the poor in our communities and its time that we finally are able to hopefully get a bill that will pass both the House and the Senate and be signed by the governor.
Rep. David Richardson, D-Miami Beach: I dont think its absolutely clear that its needed, to be honest with you, but I heard that we can provide more strength by repeating that these are illegal. So for that reason, I will support it.
Dave Heller is a freelance Tallahassee reporter/videographer.
