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"The expansion of Indian gaming off traditional tribal reservation lands onto tribal acquired lands is an issue of national controversy and congressional inquiry.

Because of the unbridled success of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in their dual-casino destination resort on the reservation in Neshoba County and their desire to expand their casino operations to a new site in Jackson County, it's a state issue as well.

The Choctaws submitted an application on Nov. 15, 2005, to convert 40 acres of trust land in Jackson County into a casino site. Under legislation pending in Congress to stop the expansion of Indian gaming to off-reservation sites, the Choctaws would be "grandfathered" to pursue the Gulf Coast expansion.

Chief Phillip Martin is a bona fide Mississippi legend who led his people to a full measure of the "self-determination" he's spent his adult life advocating for his people. Mississippi has no right to tax the Pearl River Resort operation. It should be left alone.

But if the Choctaws choose to expand their operations off the reservation to the Gulf Coast or the Mississippi River, they should compete under the same market conditions and tax structure that private sector casinos face.

Congress is recognizing the need to regulate the spread of Indian gaming, which has expanded far more than private sector gaming over the last decade. On the Gulf Coast, all gaming should be state-regulated and taxed."

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Editorial: Gaming: Choctaws should adhere to rules (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger 9/3)