GROUP UNABLE TO FIND PRO-GAMBLING SPEAKERS

The organizer of an upcoming forum on the topic of riverboat gambling says she's having no luck finding people who'll speak in favor of the issue.

"If all these people want it but they're not willing to stand up for it, then who is going to stand up for it?" asked Donna Miller, president of the American Family Association chapter in Cape Girardeau.

"I'm real curious why they won't speak to me."

The AFA, a national fundamentalist Christian organization founded by the Rev. Donald Wildmon, is sponsoring the forum.

The AFA is known for organizing boycotts of companies that sponsor television programs it finds offensive. But Miller said the forum is meant to provide information including financial about riverboat gambling operations.

"We just want to answer questions from the public," she said.

Miller said the tax-exempt group is barred from taking positions on political issues.

The forum is to be held from 2-4 p.m. April 18 at the Show Me Center.

Speakers Miller has invited to the forum include a number of downtown business people who have publicly encouraged riverboat gambling in the city, an issue voters will decide in June. So far, none has accepted the invitation.

Wayne Griffin, owner of Griffin's Cafe in downtown Cape Girardeau, said it's highly unlikely any will.

"I'm not going to go up there and make myself look stupid," said Griffin, contending that the organizers already have made up their minds about the gambling boats.

Griffin contended the forum is no more than an excuse to bring in anti-gambling speakers from out of town.

On the opposition side, Miller has invited Kerry Messer, a member of the Missouri Family Network, a Christian lobbying organization. Other invitees include Harold Henrick, a St. Charles man who is a member of the Missouri State Crime Commission, and a so-far-unidentified person who will talk about gambling addictions.

On the other side, Miller has invited Griffin by mail and has unsuccessfully tried to convince other downtown merchants to participate. Also invited were John Connely, a Pittsburgh, Penn., man who reportedly owns numerous gambling riverboats, and Phil Linsalata, a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who has covered gambling issues at the state level.

Miller said she did not invite interests from Metropolis, Ill., because riverboat gambling is still relatively new there. She said she did not know whom to contact in Alton, Ill., a more established riverboat gambling site.

Griffin said the forum presents a no-win situation for those who favor gambling.

"We're not going to go out there and get into a debate with a bunch of preachers," he said.

"I'm not going to go up there and argue, so they're not going to have anyone to argue with."

He said a town hall meeting which KZIM and the League of Women Voters are attempting to organize in May will give the city a truer picture of the issue.

Miller, meanwhile, said her attempts to organize the forum thus far have been met with animosity from the downtown merchants.

"I've got a sneaking feeling there's something going on in this town," she said.