And here is example number one billion of why governments are stupid, ineffective creatures that do more harm than good. The state of Idaho actually has a law that makes using common sense illegal.

Yes, you read that correctly. Right now it is a misdemeanor for prosecutors or police officers to fail to act on a gambling “crime” that they know is in progress. Sure, we want the law to be enforced, but I have never heard of them being held accountable for not doing so before. This whole issue came up when the police raided a senior center and made arrests because a $20 poker game was being played. The police acted on what common sense says to ignore because failing to do so would be against the law, and they took an oath to uphold that law.

People should never knowingly break the law, but it is necessary for the police and prosecutors to use discretion in the enforcement of those laws. How would our society be if the police ticketed everyone who jaywalked, rode a bicycle on the wrong side of the road, or drove one mile-per-hour over the speed limit? Common sense says to focus on the bigger crimes and when it comes to the smaller ones, use your own judgment to determine whether or not it is worth your time.

Luckily, due in part to arrests like the senior center incident, lawmakers in Idaho have changed their minds. Yesterday, Governor Butch Otter (yes, that’s his name) signed a bill into law that allows law enforcement agencies to use their discretion in such cases. The law will go into effect on July 1. From that time on, the police will not be committing a crime if they decide not to haul grandma into jail for betting $5 on a square in the office Super Bowl pool.

The original law came into existence because once upon a time there was rampant illegal gambling going on in Idaho and the authorities were ignoring it. However, time and again we have seen that increasingly restrictive and specific laws usually end up doing away with common sense. In fact, if we just followed common sense, there wouldn’t be need for very many laws at all. After all, do we need a law saying you can’t steal someone else’s property? Obviously that’s bad!

But I digress. The new law is a victory for anyone who favors common sense over Draconian rule. Sense, of course, isn’t all that common, especially in government, so it’s nice to see it prevail on these rare occasions. Now they just need to consider whether or not it’s common sense to let people gamble with their own money.

Gambling law in Alabama may soon change. The state has traditionally been against gambling, but recent events have some people, the residents as well as politicians, reconsidering their position. Electronic bingo machines, which are currently illegal, have sprung up across the state, but so far nothing has been done about it. Governor Robert Riley was frustrated with the fact that the city police and attorney general seemed to look the other way. In response, he formed a Task Force on Illegal Gambling last year.

One of the first actions of the task force was to raid three establishments believed to be housing illegal gambling, which include Country Crossing, VictoryLand and the White Hall Entertainment Center. However, since they did not have a warrant, a judge ordered that the raid be halted. VictoryLand then filed a restraining order. Since then, a warrant has been issued to search the establishments and in response, the businesses have closed indefinitely to avoid being raided.

And that’s where things get tricky. If the businesses are indeed running illegal gambling operations, Riley is well within his rights by going after them, though many in the gambling community see him as an evil anti-gambling activist. The attempted raids and subsequent closings, however, have stirred up controversy in the state and now it seems that the people don’t even agree with the gambling ban anymore.

Once a strong anti-gambling voice, the people of Alabama have seen their state, like the rest of the country, mired in a bad recession. Jobs are scarce and with those businesses shut down, the economy is hurting even more and countless workers are wondering if they still have jobs. As a result, a recent poll by the Christian Coalition shows that 2/3 of the people of Alabama are opposed to Riley’s gambling raids and a poll by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama found that 72% of the people are in favor of regulated gambling in the state and only 25% want gambling outlawed.

In response, Riley’s popularity in the state is falling and state Representative Marcel Black introduced a bill that would allow the voters to decide whether or not to legalize gambling. At this time, shutting down illegal gambling is perfectly constitutional, but doing so could hurt Riley. With thousands of jobs at stake, no one wants to be the guy who made the unemployment situation in Alabama even worse. For that reason, it may be best to let the people vote and see what they decide. In the meantime, do nothing. It may turn Riley’s stomach to turn a blind eye to illegal activity, no matter how harmless, but it may be what’s best for the state, his reputation and that of his party.