Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence yesterday - except this time, it wasn't addressed to England.
A protester dressed in colonial garb read aloud from "The Declaration of these Citizens of Philadelphia of our Independence from Casinos" as part of Casino-Free Philadelphia's kickoff event.
The organization seeks to gain government backing in its efforts to halt potential casino development in the city, group representatives say.
The nearly 500 members of the organization oppose the current Chinatown casino plan because of its potential harmful effects on the area, according to Brendan Walsh, a Casino-Free Philadelphia representative.
About 50 people turned out at 5th and Market streets at noon yesterday to protest.
Casinos are harmful to local businesses because they offer free parking and big restaurants, said Chuck Valentine of Fishtown, Pa. He lives five blocks from where one casino had been slated for construction.
But because state law prohibits stand-alone casinos within 10 miles of a racetrack casino, remaining city areas open for development are primarily residential, said 1959 Penn alumnus Bert Strieb, who was at the event.
The racetrack casino in Chester County is within 10 miles of the airport and the navy yard, which are both non-residential areas.
"There would be much less community objection if the restriction was removed," Strieb said.
Ivan Boothe, who dressed as Jefferson at the event, stressed the organization's aim of urging public officials to take a stand.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that our government should serve the needs of the people, that the workings of any government claiming to be democratic must be transparent to all," he read from the declaration.
Those who live near the proposed casino sites are particularly opposed to the idea.
"The government should not be involved in something so predatory and destructive to the economy, culture and families of the neighborhood," said Debbie King of Northern Liberties, Pa., who lives three blocks from a formerly proposed casino site.
Despite the protests, some city politicians support the casinos.
Brian Abernathy, a spokesman for city councilman Frank DiCicco, said the councilman's position has "always been that there will be two casinos in Philadelphia."
He said casino development is a state issue - Philadelphia's city council has taken the issue to the state Supreme Court 12 times and lost.
"This is a much more complicated issue than Casino-Free would like us to believe," Abernathy said.
But the bottom line remains that "the state has mandated that the casinos be built in the city, and we have to deal with the hand that we're dealt," he said.
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