Who is responsible for the constitutional amendment which would have allowed for the creation of an Alabama Lottery dying on the floor of the state's legislature Friday afternoon, if anyone? Fingers can be pointed at everyone, from the senate who passed an incorrect version of the bill on August 22nd, to the House who blocked a committee meeting which would have forced the proposed amendment to be voted on by Alabamians in a special session, or the Senate (yes again), which voted 23 to seven against the motion to accept the version which was passed in the House. After all that, you are likely wondering who you are supposed to be mad at or happy with depending on your take on the lottery bill.

My personal opinion on who is at fault for the bill failing is not really the point of this article. My point is more about the people I have discussed the debate with on campus at JSU and the fact that a lot of people were not informed or they didn't particularly care. If you fall into either of those two groups, the uneducated or the apathetic, I would like to tell you to grow up.

I am not saying you are immature or that you are not a good person, I am just saying that you are severely underselling your own opinion by letting it be dictated by someone else or by not having one at all. Making decisions on our own is hard, even writing this article I am terrified of saying the wrong thing. But we have to work past that, and it helps if you try to read what the people who make political decisions for a living have to say about something. Even if it is an opinion you disagree with, you can work it into your favor.

I found some specific resources really vital to my understanding of the lottery debate. LegiScan was a really valuable source, especially this page which has a list of every vote that took place on the proposed lottery bill. Also, these pages on the two houses of our state legislature have the names of representatives and senators, who they represent, and the phone number of their offices.

The lottery debate has peaked the attention of many Alabamians and college students who are traditionally quite passive about politics and inspired an interest in the process. I want to see that interest in the process persist even now that hope for a state lottery is likely gone.