The Alabama Senate is expected to reject a lottery and gambling bill by one vote — one vote against providing billions of dollars to our kids and Alabama's education system for years to come.

Ironically, the very people elected by the people of Alabama are the ones depriving those people of the right to vote in determining the future of their state.

Alabama ranks last in the nation in education, high school graduation rates and literacy rates. We only need to look to our neighboring states to see what the Alabama Senate is forcing us to give up.

In Georgia, the Hope Scholarship has brought incredible improvements to colleges and universities, making the dreams of higher education a reality for thousands of Georgia children.

With Mississippi seeing big improvements in education and quality of life indicators, and shiny new emergency response vehicles visible throughout the Magnolia State, the days of claiming “at least we have Mississippi” seem gone.

I applaud the Representatives and Senators who have worked tirelessly on this bill, spending countless hours negotiating, drafting and revising it, all because I believe Alabamians deserve the opportunity to decide their own future.

Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of false claims circulating about this bill. Casinos have long been huge profit makers in Alabama. One only has to drive through any casino parking lot to see that. Opponents will say that casinos increase crime. The only problem with this claim is that there is no statistical evidence that casinos increase crime rates in any city. The real problem is that not a cent of the revenue from these businesses is ever put back into the citizens' pockets.

Gambling is instituted as a form of entertainment. Like anything, there are people who abuse it. There are people who regularly bet thousands of dollars on rounds of golf. But we are not going to close golf courses.

Alabamians believe in individual freedom and individual choice. We are more forward-thinking than we want the government to decide how to spend our money. And we want better for our children. We want the money people take to neighboring states to stay in Alabama. And we want our voices to be heard.

The next vote is on Thursday. Let your representatives know that you want the right to vote on this important bill for our state in August. Let your voice be heard.

Laura Johnston Clark is a wife, mother and businesswoman. She grew up in the Wiregrass and currently lives in Birmingham with her husband, retired Air Force Colonel David Etheridge. She is an Alabama Republican.