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The Associated Press

FRANKFORT — Rep. Tom Burch has a solution to the danger posed to Kentucky's horse industry from casino riverboats on the Ohio River: Sink 'em.

Mr. Burch, a Louisville Democrat and self-described “Old Navy man,” said he came up with the idea of a state submarine force to attack the riverboats so he could poke fun at opponents of slot machine casinos at Kentucky racetracks.

Mr. Burch said the “hypocrites who say they can save Kentuckians from gambling” by opposing slots at racetracks ignore the reality of the riverboat casinos in Indiana and Illinois.

To make his point, Mr. Burch offered a resolution to the House urging the creation of a Kentucky Navy to patrol the Ohio River and “engage and destroy any casino riverboats that the submarine may encounter.”

The resolution also authorizes the notification of the “riverboat consulate” of the “impending whoopin' so that they may remove their casino vessels to friendlier waters.”

Actually, Kentucky already has a submarine force of a sort with the firepower to easily eliminate a riverboat, or a medium-size nation, for that matter.

The USS Louisville is a 360-foot fast attack submarine, armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles designed to take out nuclear missile submarines and other opposition naval forces. The USS Kentucky is a Trident ballistic missile submarine whose nuclear warheads can level an entire country.

But the subs' size would make them difficult to hide in the Ohio River. The Louisville is 360 feet long, and the Kentucky is 560 feet.

The resolution has not been offered for a vote, though Mr. Burch had it read in the House this week.