SLOT MACHINES AT HOME? NOT NEEDED

It is either an indication that all the legislation fit to pass already has been adopted by the Missouri Legislature or that our elected officials are wasting their precious last days of the session on frivolous ideas. Take your pick.

Consider the bill that was debated in the Missouri House Tuesday -- a mere three days before the constitutionally mandated date for adjournment -- that would allow private ownership of slot machines. This bill, ever vigilant against promoting unauthorized gambling, would continue to make it a crime to use old slot machines for -- dare we say it? -- gambling. No, by allowing private ownership of used slot machines discarded by state-sanctioned gambling halls on riverboats that don't float, this bill would cater to families who would like a bit of unusual decoration for their family rooms.

The bill's backers say having a slot machine in your home is just another type of, you know, entertainment. Harmless fun. No -- wink, wink -- actual betting.

It is, of course, illegal for slot machines to be used for their intended purpose anywhere except on licensed riverboats in Missouri. Law enforcement officials have had enough problems with illegal slot machines allowed by certain organizations even when owning them was against the law. Opponents of the proposal to allow private ownership of slot machines are justifiably worried that it would be all but impossible to keep track of those devices presumably sold for the rec room that might wind up elsewhere, fully operational and ready to accept lots and lots of quarters.

It can be hoped, naturally, that the hectic pace of the last days of the legislative session will prevent this bill from getting any serious consideration. But stranger things have happened in the sometimes giddy final hours of less-than-solemn deliberation.

This is one piece of legislation that our elected officials should be alert to and make sure it doesn't get hidden in some other bill that must be passed. Missourians don't need slot machines in their homes, even if they can only be used as planters.