SOCIAL HARMS

"Seeking Our Neighbor's Welfare"

Social Harms

The Family Founndation is committed to caring for Kentucky’s families and that includes seeking their welfare.

Addictions are a plague on our Commonwealth that break apart Kentucky’s families, thus destroying the foundational cornerstone of our society.

Expanded Gambling

The Family Foundation believes that expanded gambling within the Commonwealth would be bad for Kentucky families and have a corrupting influence on our government.

Expanded gambling would target the family. Gambling does not create any new wealth, it merely makes wealth change hands. And gambling money does not come from corporations, businesses, institutions, schools, nonprofits, clubs, or civic groups; gambling money comes from Moms and Dads, and a few single people.

Businesses will lose. After their losses, parents won’t be able to afford taking the family out to eat, buying their children new clothes for school, purchasing a new refrigerator, or financing a new addition to the house.

Government will  be corrupted. With millions going into the hands of the gambling industry, they will become the greatest contributor to and most influential group in the political process. This would open the door for the will of the gambling industry to direct our legislature, rather than the will of the people.

The vulnerable will be destroyed. There will be some people whose lives will be totally destroyed – marriage-damaging financial stress, alcoholism, drug use, child neglect and abuse, spouse neglect and abuse, divorce, depression, suicide, embezzlement, imprisonment, and crime.

Medical Marijuana

The Family Foundation supports calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies to expedite research into the safety and efficacy of the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Although marijuana may have medical benefits, it needs to go through the same testing process required of other medications to ensure that the public, health professionals, and industry are protected.

A January 2017 report from teh National Academies of Sciences, Engieering, and MEdicine (NASEM) summarized the current evidence and recommended several steps to overcome regulatory barriers so that the health benefits and health risks of marijuana could be more fully understood.

A comprehensive research agenda focused on the potential benefits and adverse impacts of marijuana has not occurred and cannot occur under current federal law.

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Recent Social Harms Related Blog Posts

So-called “Conversion Ban” pushed

Sep 25, 2020 | Religious Liberty, Social Harms

On Aug. 25, a legislative committee heard testimony on a proposed bill for 2021, to ban “gay conversion therapy.” Opponents of the bill refer to it as the “counseling censorship ban.” Two such bills were introduced in the 2020 session, but neither moved — HB 199 by...

A BAD thing done a BAD way

Feb 25, 2020 | Social Harms

OPINION BY Martin Cothran, Senior Policy Analyst When Sports Wagering legislation was introduced in early January, the odds were said to be good that it would gain the approval of the state legislators. In fact, for almost every session for the past 25 years,...

So-called “Conversion Ban” pushed

Sep 25, 2020 | Religious Liberty, Social Harms

On Aug. 25, a legislative committee heard testimony on a proposed bill for 2021, to ban “gay conversion therapy.” Opponents of the bill refer to it as the “counseling censorship ban.” Two such bills were introduced in the 2020 session, but neither moved — HB 199 by...

A BAD thing done a BAD way

Feb 25, 2020 | Social Harms

OPINION BY Martin Cothran, Senior Policy Analyst When Sports Wagering legislation was introduced in early January, the odds were said to be good that it would gain the approval of the state legislators. In fact, for almost every session for the past 25 years,...

So-called “Conversion Ban” pushed

Sep 25, 2020 | Religious Liberty, Social Harms

On Aug. 25, a legislative committee heard testimony on a proposed bill for 2021, to ban “gay conversion therapy.” Opponents of the bill refer to it as the “counseling censorship ban.” Two such bills were introduced in the 2020 session, but neither moved — HB 199 by...

A BAD thing done a BAD way

Feb 25, 2020 | Social Harms

OPINION BY Martin Cothran, Senior Policy Analyst When Sports Wagering legislation was introduced in early January, the odds were said to be good that it would gain the approval of the state legislators. In fact, for almost every session for the past 25 years,...

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Older Posts

No Constitutional Amendment for Gambling?

Jan 13, 2020 | General Assembly, Social Harms

Republican-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate were racing forward with their conservative agenda – passing seven bills in the first five days of the 2017 Session. The speed is not the same in 2018 for a number of reasons. Among the bills passed early...

The week before Christmas

Jan 13, 2020 | General Assembly, Social Harms

The week before Christmas, Kentucky’s Interim Joint Committee on Licensing and Occupations decided to give itself a present. Committee members, almost all of whom favored sports wagering legislation pre-filed for this 2020 General Assembly session, were facing a...

Write the Editor About Gambling

Jan 7, 2020 | General Assembly, Social Harms

Just choose the message you feel best represents your concerns and mail soon (VERY SOON) to your newspaper. Please add your own words and you can mix ad match ideas from several if you care to. The main this is to get your message in SOON! Dear Editor, There’s a lot...

The Foundation’s gambling case: The Facts

Dec 30, 2019 | Social Harms

After a nearly ten-year court battle, the Kentucky Supreme Court now has everything it needs to determine whether one type of the historical horse racing devices is actually legal. The Family Foundation filed its reply brief, the last of the written arguments in the...

Are these devices really pari-mutuel?

Dec 30, 2019 | Social Harms

“From my vantage point, this whole case is a farce,” said Kent Ostrander, executive director of The Family Foundation. “It’s all about the horse racing industry trying to consolidate a monopoly on all kinds of gambling in Kentucky by circumventing the General Assembly...

“Four Truths” about gambling expansion

Sep 9, 2019 | Social Harms

It has always worked this way: A few people who have money try to induce those who have little to “take a chance.” Those wealthy individuals never gamble on their machines — they know better. Now we have the horse racing industry, which claims to need money,...

Foxes Guarding Hens

Sep 9, 2019 | Social Harms

 On Aug. 21, a meeting was held in Frankfort to discuss the newest idea for solving the state’s financial problems. The Joint Interim Licensing and Occupations Committee took testimony on sports wagering legislation. Unfortunately for supporters of this legislation,...

Some want our money at all costs

Apr 10, 2019 | Social Harms

Opinion: By Martin Cothran, Senior Policy Analyst for The Family Foundation The gambling bill in the 2019 Session is dead, but the corruptive influence of the gambling industry never dies. In early February, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that a prominent...

Historical Racing case is farcical

Apr 10, 2019 | Social Harms

It’s a fact that these machines were operating LONG BEFORE there was a ruling. How the Kentucky judiciary had been allowing these “historical racing” slot machines to operate long before it ruled in the case is “Exhibit Number 1” of how the gambling industry corrupts...

HB 175: Massive gambling expansion bill fails!

Apr 10, 2019 | General Assembly, Social Harms

Though it was described simply as a “Sports Wagering bill,” HB 175 would have had huge ramifications for Kentucky families. House Bill 175 was “advertised” in the General Assembly in Frankfort as the “Sports Wagering Bill” but it actually went way beyond its moniker....

Gambling expansion is bad policy! – CALL!

Feb 25, 2019 | General Assembly, Social Harms

The legislative efforts to expand gambling are now coming from some Republicans. Phone calls are the best tool to stop them. HB 175  is posted for passage in the Kentucky House. Stan Cave, attorney for The Family Foundation, who testified against HB175 (as filed)...

Cannabis must be fully researched – CALL!

Feb 25, 2019 | General Assembly, Social Harms

House Concurrent Resolution 5 (HCR 5) calls on the FDA to properly study cannabis, just like it does all other medications. ALL of the herbs and grasses of the field, and ALL of the shrubs and trees have been given to man to use and develop for his benefit. Cannabis...

No Constitutional Amendment for Gambling?

Jan 13, 2020 | General Assembly, Social Harms

Republican-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate were racing forward with their conservative agenda – passing seven bills in the first five days of the 2017 Session. The speed is not the same in 2018 for a number of reasons. Among the bills passed early...

The week before Christmas

Jan 13, 2020 | General Assembly, Social Harms

The week before Christmas, Kentucky’s Interim Joint Committee on Licensing and Occupations decided to give itself a present. Committee members, almost all of whom favored sports wagering legislation pre-filed for this 2020 General Assembly session, were facing a...

Write the Editor About Gambling

Jan 7, 2020 | General Assembly, Social Harms

Just choose the message you feel best represents your concerns and mail soon (VERY SOON) to your newspaper. Please add your own words and you can mix ad match ideas from several if you care to. The main this is to get your message in SOON! Dear Editor, There’s a lot...

The Foundation’s gambling case: The Facts

Dec 30, 2019 | Social Harms

After a nearly ten-year court battle, the Kentucky Supreme Court now has everything it needs to determine whether one type of the historical horse racing devices is actually legal. The Family Foundation filed its reply brief, the last of the written arguments in the...

Are these devices really pari-mutuel?

Dec 30, 2019 | Social Harms

“From my vantage point, this whole case is a farce,” said Kent Ostrander, executive director of The Family Foundation. “It’s all about the horse racing industry trying to consolidate a monopoly on all kinds of gambling in Kentucky by circumventing the General Assembly...

“Four Truths” about gambling expansion

Sep 9, 2019 | Social Harms

It has always worked this way: A few people who have money try to induce those who have little to “take a chance.” Those wealthy individuals never gamble on their machines — they know better. Now we have the horse racing industry, which claims to need money,...

Foxes Guarding Hens

Sep 9, 2019 | Social Harms

 On Aug. 21, a meeting was held in Frankfort to discuss the newest idea for solving the state’s financial problems. The Joint Interim Licensing and Occupations Committee took testimony on sports wagering legislation. Unfortunately for supporters of this legislation,...

Some want our money at all costs

Apr 10, 2019 | Social Harms

Opinion: By Martin Cothran, Senior Policy Analyst for The Family Foundation The gambling bill in the 2019 Session is dead, but the corruptive influence of the gambling industry never dies. In early February, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that a prominent...

Historical Racing case is farcical

Apr 10, 2019 | Social Harms

It’s a fact that these machines were operating LONG BEFORE there was a ruling. How the Kentucky judiciary had been allowing these “historical racing” slot machines to operate long before it ruled in the case is “Exhibit Number 1” of how the gambling industry corrupts...

HB 175: Massive gambling expansion bill fails!

Apr 10, 2019 | General Assembly, Social Harms

Though it was described simply as a “Sports Wagering bill,” HB 175 would have had huge ramifications for Kentucky families. House Bill 175 was “advertised” in the General Assembly in Frankfort as the “Sports Wagering Bill” but it actually went way beyond its moniker....

Gambling expansion is bad policy! – CALL!

Feb 25, 2019 | General Assembly, Social Harms

The legislative efforts to expand gambling are now coming from some Republicans. Phone calls are the best tool to stop them. HB 175  is posted for passage in the Kentucky House. Stan Cave, attorney for The Family Foundation, who testified against HB175 (as filed)...

Cannabis must be fully researched – CALL!

Feb 25, 2019 | General Assembly, Social Harms

House Concurrent Resolution 5 (HCR 5) calls on the FDA to properly study cannabis, just like it does all other medications. ALL of the herbs and grasses of the field, and ALL of the shrubs and trees have been given to man to use and develop for his benefit. Cannabis...

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