Churches could lose tax exemption over gay marriage
Lost in the celebrations over universal gay marriage, like abortion, being deemed a right found in the penumbras and emanations of the Constitution is the chilling effect the ruling has on religious liberty. In a telling exchange between the Obama administrations Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. and Justice Samuel Alito, detailed by Tom Blumer at Newsbusters.com, in which Verrilli admitted that churches could lose their tax exemptions if they refuse to perform gay weddings:Justice Alito: Well, in the Bob Jones case, the Court held that a college was not entitled to taxexempt status if it opposed interracial marriage or interracial dating. So would the same apply to a university or a college if it opposed same-sex marriage?General Verrilli: You know, I dont think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but its certainly going to be an issue. I dont deny that. I dont deny that, Justice Alito. It is it is going to be an issue.So the administration admits that the tax exemption of institutions could be at risk if they refuse to acquiesce in the acceptance of gay marriages. There is no reason to assume that this mandate would not apply to institutions such as the Catholic Church. Those who think this is a red herring forget that this is the administration dragging the Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of elderly nuns devoted to helping the aged poor, through the courts, because they wont comply with Obamacares contraception coverage mandate: as Investors Business Daily editorialized:The Little Sisters contend ObamaCare not only violates the First Amendment's religious guarantees, but also the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That requires the government to implement its policies in ways that do not impose an unnecessary burden on the free exercise of religion If the Little Sisters lose their case, they'll either have to violate their religious conscience or face fines of around $2.5 million a year, or about 40% of what they beg for annually to care for the dying poor. Their ministry would be severely crippled, as would the First Amendment's guarantee of religious liberty.The Obama administrations hostility to the free exercise of religion was seen in the Hobby Lobby case, in which the government argued that acting on your religious beliefs in your personal and business life is illegal. The courts ruled otherwise, agreeing that this was an attempted infringement of the free exercise of religion:So do scores of Catholic and non-Catholic institutions and businesses who argue either that the way they run their private businesses is an extension of their faith or that a church, something the federal government seeks to redefine, is not something that happens one hour a week on a Sunday but 24/7 through the hospitals, schools, soup kitchens and charities they may operate. They argue that acting out their faith through their works should not be illegal.We should also not underestimate the passion of gay activists, who, in the secular realm, have argued that no institution has the right to follow the religious beliefs of the proprietors in its daily operations. Just ask Crystal OConnor, member of the family that owns Memories Pizza, who touched off a firestorm when she refused to cater a hypothetical gay wedding. She told a local ABC news affiliate that she agreed with Indianas version of the federal RFRA signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993:Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/06/churches_could_lose_tax_exemption_over_gay_marriage.html#ixzz3eLFY1xDb Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
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I believe that is already being discussed as a great possibility. I mean, what are they going to do when the preacher refuses to bake their cake?
Hal believes in the Bible, but he only believes in the part about dust to dust.
Couldn't happen to a better crowd !
Ooooooh..... let's hope not.
Hell, even you lord and savior tells you to do your worshiping in private, and not spend your offerings on places to do it publicly. Why don't you do what he says, for once. The fact that you know this, yet routinely and willfully defy it, tells us that your religion is just a cover for a political agenda. You are a fraud, C4P.