No one with good sense would think it's OK to leave a child alone in a parked car while the adults hit the slot machines, yet at casinos in Pennsylvania and across the nation, parents have done exactly that.

This summer, the problem has been particularly acute at the Parx Casino at the Philadelphia Park racetrack, where there have been seven instances since June of irresponsible adults leaving children unattended in the parking lot. Fortunately, Lady Luck was on their side and none of the children was injured as a result.

State Sen. Robert Tomlinson and Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, whose districts include the Bucks County facility, have the right intentions in trying to craft a solution, but their proposed change unfortunately is no improvement over state law.

Their measures, Senate Bill 1462 and its companion in the House, would make it a felony for an adult to leave a child under the age of 13 in a motor vehicle without adult supervision. The intention is to toughen the legal consequences for failing to care properly for children.

Current law is more nuanced -- and rightfully so. A person accused of endangering a child's welfare can either be issued a fine or charged with two different grades of misdemeanors, depending on the circumstances. In addition, adults can be charged with more serious felony counts if a child is harmed, such as when left in a hot vehicle to suffer hyperthermia.

Since the lawmakers' proposal was triggered by incidents at a casino, it makes more sense to target those establishments directly, making sure they provide adequate surveillance on their property.

Security cameras and regular patrols by guards in casino parking lots should help curb irresponsible behavior by adults. In addition, parking attendants at the facilities should be trained to take note if children are inside arriving vehicles and immediately notify the adults that no one under age 21 can be admitted to the casinos.

Those actions make sense. Tinkering with already effective child endangerment laws does not.

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