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When expressing opposition to the casino somebody is bound to make a comment like: “Buffalo is getting a casino whether they like it or not, you may as well just try to keep the Senecas happy so they don’t screw us over”
Now, call me a Skeptic, but I’m willing to bet that some of the people who make these comments haven’t actually read the lawsuit against Pataki, Norton et all regarding the casino. A summary of the lawsuit is below in the Full article along with links to the official documents.
My other purpose for writing this is to recommend a democratic alternative. Put the issue on the ballot in November. Let City Residents decide if we want a legally exempt casino in our city.
Sure the final outcome may still depend on the lawsuit, but the outcome of our vote will either discredit the lawsuit opening the door for the casino, or it will be the nail in the casino’s coffin. Either way we will finally have some certainty in this city, and we can begin planning our future with some confidence, instead of waiting for someone else to decide what happens next.
First a summary of the lawsuit, in the words of Joel S Rose co-Chairperson of Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County, a major partner in the lawsuit.
“Our attorneys in the federal lawsuit challenging the actions of various federal officials in approving the Buffalo Creek Casino have filed a motion for summary judgment in federal court. This means that they feel that based on undisputed facts already in evidence and on the clear meaning of the law, the judge has enough information to reach a finding that gambling is not permissible on the Buffalo parcels. The motion is based on two independent grounds:"
"(a) The Salamanca Settlement Act of 1990, under which the land was acquired, specifies circumstances under which the land may be made sovereign territory. Those circumstances do not apply to the Buffalo parcels. Therefore, the land is not sovereign territory and gambling is not permissible on it."
(The circumstances under which land can be acquired are that the territory is either adjacent to existing Indian territory, or former Indian territory. It is true that much of South Buffalo was once Indian Territory, but the first ward was not part of that territory. The current casino site is one mile away from the former Buffalo Creek Indian Reservation.)
"(b) Even if the judge were to find that the land is sovereign, it was acquired after 1988. The 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act says that lands acquired after 1988 cannot be used for gambling unless they were acquired as settlement of a land claim. The Salamanca Settlement Act did not settle a land claim (a term which has a very specific legal meaning); it settled a potential crisis of massive rent increases arising from the expiration of a 99-year lease. Therefore, the land in question does not satisfy the conditions for the exception, and gambling is not permissible on it."
More Research:
http://nocasinoerie.org/other/SummaryJudgment/MemorandumOfLaw.pdf
I’m a graduate of political science, not law, but after reading this legal claim it seems like this casino project is dead in the water. What conclusion can possibly be made? The casino is not in compliance with the law, and it cannot go forward. So much for being stuck with a casino.
The outcome of the lawsuit is uncertain. But we really don't have to wait for a lawsuit, or Albany, or even Washington where the Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton approved the land transfer to the Indians before resigning under unrelated corruption allegations.
We can figure this out for ourselves. The City Council can put a referendum on the ballot in November, and ask the voters if we support, or do not support a legally exempt Indian-operated casino in downtown Buffalo. Yes or no to the casino.
And if we say no, the city agrees to not comply with the casino, by not agreeing to any permits or easements so that the casino can not operate.
And if it the federal government sides with the casino, the people of the city voted against it, what can they do? The federal government may be able to override the city government, but the people? The voters? Our system of laws relies on the consent of the governed. We cannot easily be overridden on this matter.
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