Opinion: Smoking, sovereignty at tribal casinos

Wednesday, September 23, 2009  

"When you pull up to the gas pumps at the Grand Ronde Station outside the Spirit Mountain Casino, there's a surprise: You can pump your own gas. This exception to Oregon's ban on self service gasoline exists because the Grand Ronde Station sits on tribal land, and thus is regulated not by the laws of Oregon, but by the sovereign nation of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.

The full extent of this sovereignty will be tested if a top Portland lawyer, John DiLorenzo, working with the American Lung Association, keeps pushing the state to require tribes to prohibit smoking inside their nine casinos in Oregon. DiLorenzo has sent a letter on behalf of the American Lung Association to Gov. Ted Kulongoski urging the governor to make the tribes comply with the state law.

DiLorenzo is right about one thing: There's nothing different about the health risks of breathing secondhand smoke, whether you're serving customers perched on a stool in a Portland tavern or gamblers sitting in front of a slot machine at the Spirit Mountain Casino. It's also true that the compacts that the tribes and the state have signed say that tribes will adopt health and safety standards "that are at least as rigorous as comparable standards imposed by the laws and regulations of the state.""

Get the Story:
Rick Attig: Where there's smoke, there's gambling competition (The Oregonian 9/23)

Earlier Story:
Oregon group targets smoking at tribal casinos (9/18)