Post by Diane Merkel on Nov 17, 2006 21:27:26 GMT -6
The following is from the newsletter of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A link to their online petition is at the bottom.
Petition: www.nationaltrust.org/gettysburg/
Gambling With Gettysburg's Future
A proposed casino development in Gettysburg, PA, will affect the community that surrounds and supports the historic battlefield. Click on image for larger view. (Photo credit: NPCA)
The Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania would rank at or near the top of any list of America’s most sacred places. Yet unbelievably, today private developers are lobbying the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to trade history for a casino of 3,000 to 5,000 slot machines within cannon range of the battlefield, a casino that would undoubtedly mar the experience of visitors who are drawn to the national shrine. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Civil War Preservation Trust and Preservation Pennsylvania have joined together in the 2nd Battle of Gettysburg to convince the Gaming Control Board that it is not in the best interest of Gettysburg’s past or future to allow this ill-advised application to move forward. As President Lincoln said so powerfully in his Gettysburg Address in November 1863, this ground is hallowed, not by our actions but by the blood of tens of thousands of Americans. All of us, and especially Pennsylvanians, are trustees of this hallowed ground.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will decide the fate of Gettysburg on December 20th. Please sign our online petition which we will forward to the Board in advance of their meeting.
Petition: www.nationaltrust.org/gettysburg/