First Liberty



Dem. Presidential Candidate Beto O'Rourke:
End Tax-Exempt Status for Any Church Opposing Gay Marriage

Dear John,

During a CNN presidential town hall last night, Democratic hopeful
Beto O'Rourke was asked:

"Do you think religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities,
should lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex
marriage?"

Without missing a beat, he responded, "Yes."

He went on to say, "There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax
break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America, that
denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single
one of us."

And if that wasn't enough, he made a pledge to make it one of
his priorities as president to strip churches of their tax-exempt
status for simply following thousands of years of religious teaching
doctrine.

O'Rourke's threat is a direct affront to the constitutional guarantee
of religious liberty. His outrageous call to end this longstanding
benefit to houses of worship is a dangerous attack on one of the
most fundamental rights under the First Amendment, the right of
religious institutions to operate according to their deeply-held beliefs.

Not only is his idea legally wrong, it's bad policy. Recent
studies show that religion contributes an estimated $1.2 trillion to
the U.S. economy annually-more than Google, Amazon, Apple, and
Microsoft, combined. And as you know, churches and religious
organizations have an enormous impact in our local communities with
the services they provide.

O'Rourke certainly isn't the first to try such a stunt.

First Liberty Institute has a long track record of defending churches,
ministries, and faith-based organizations from illegal threats such as
the one that O'Rourke is imposing. In fact, our firm successfully
defended a group of Texas churches and pastors in 2009 when their
position on marriage and support of then-Governor Rick Perry drew
the ire of the IRS.

So, let me end with this: Should O'Rourke, or any future President,
attempt to violate the Constitution in such a way, First Liberty will
once again be First in the Fight to defend religious freedom.

Gratefully, 

Kelly

Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq.
President, CEO & Chief Counsel
First Liberty Institute

 



GIVE
[link removed]

Join Us on Facebook
[link removed]

Join Us on Instagram
[link removed]

Follow Us on Twitter
[link removed]

Watch Us on YouTube
[link removed]

Join Us on LinkedIn
[link removed]

Follow Us on SoundCloud
[link removed]

Sent by First Liberty Institute
[email protected]

2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 1600 * Plano, TX 75075 *
972-941-4444

View Online
[link removed]

Donate
[link removed]

Email Preference
[link removed]

Privacy Policy
[link removed]

Powered By Blackbaud
[link removed]

© 2019
First Liberty Institute