Opponents of Amendment 32 have a new ally in the person of Govenor Owens according to the Rocky Mountain News [October 7, 2003, "Owens opposes Amendment 32"]. He wants the state to deal with the big three amendments, Gallagher, TABOR, and Amendment 23 together instead of individually. He also sees Amendment 32 as a tax hike. From the article, "Supporters claim the Gallagher Amendment, along with the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights and school funding Amendment 23, have created a fiscal nightmare for Colorado budget writers during the recent economic downturn. 'There are three constitutional issues that affect the budget, but all three need to be addressed at the same time, 'the governor said during an appearance on The Mike Rosen Show on KOA-Radio."

Douglas Bruce is planning to present his views on Referendum A today, according to the Denver Post [October 7, 2003, "Critics stage attack on Referendum A"]. From the article, "Taxpayer advocate Douglas Bruce of Colorado Springs plans to present his views this morning, but would not discuss the issue Monday. Opponents issued an announcement of today's news conference Monday, saying the 'new charges threaten the already divisive ballot measure."

Here's an article about the opposition to Amendment 33 and the effects of gambling on the mountain towns where it is allowed from the Rocky Mountain News [October 7, 2003, "At casinos, chips down"]. From the article, "The 44 casinos in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City and their associations have put together a $2.9 million war chest and have gone on the attack. A majority of Colorado's gambling is owned by small casino chains that own one or two casinos in Colorado. But the largest share of funding to fight Amendment 33 is coming from those casinos owned by larger interests in places such as Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and Mississippi. Gaming revenues have generally been flat during the past few years for the first time since limited-stakes gaming came to Colorado in 1992. Most in the industry blame both the maturing of the local casinos and the increase in gambling options across the country since the 1990s. 'The casinos want bigger and better and to heck with anything historical,' said Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville. 'Once gaming comes in, it's like a locust. It consumes everything in its path. It's done a lot of good for Colorado, but at the expense of those three communities." Here's a table from the Rocky [October 7, 2003, "Where Colorado's gaming money goes"] showing the current breakdown of gambling revenues.
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