North Carolina congressmen are drafting legislation that would prohibit sales of lottery tickets to people who receive public assistance or who are in bankruptcy, the Huffington Post reports.
Lawmakers claim that people who are struggling financially shouldn’t be spending their money on lottery tickets. The proposed law would even punish store clerks that knowingly sell lotto tickets to welfare recipients.
State House Majority Leader Rep.
Paul “Skip” Stam (Republican), one of those who introduced this idea, acknowledged that it might be difficult for store clerks to know which players are on welfare, but that in such cases as when customers pay for groceries with food stamps, they shouldn’t be able to buy lottery tickets at the same time.“We’re giving them welfare to help them live, and yet by selling them a ticket, we’re taking away their money that is there to provide them the barest of necessities,” Stam said told ABC, adding that the lottery “is essentially a scam.”