Posted on 12/28/2013 10:48:58 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Sen. Mike Lee says a bill he introduced would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from denying tax-exempt status to any person or group that refuses to perform gay marriages.
"What we're talking about here is the freedom of religious belief, the freedom of a church, for example, to adhere to its own religious doctrine so that it cannot be discriminated against by the government," the Utah Republican said in an interview with Newsmax.
Lee said the federal government's failure to protect religious liberty — citing Obamacare mandates for contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs — was a key motivation for him to introduce the "Marriage and Religious Freedom Act," which protects clergy from being punished if they refuse to perform gay marriages.
"This is something that the overwhelming majority of Americans would support and the overwhelming majority of Americans would be disappointed if they discovered Congress would be unwilling to pass something like this," Lee said.
Lee's bill was introduced before Congress recessed for the holidays. It has the support of Republican Sens. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. A bipartisan companion measure in the House is sponsored by Republican Reps. Raul Labrador of Idaho and Chris Smith of New Jersey, as well as Democrats Dan Lipinski of Illinois and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
We need a bill for this?
I will not attend any church that performs same-sex marriages. It tells me they are not Biblically oriented.
God gave us the right to give to Him. Government has no business interfering in our relationship with Him. Therefore, offerings to a religion are part of exercise of religion.
So far as the individual’s income, let’s get rid of the income tax, repeal the 16th, and go to straight sales tax. Then deductions won’t matter.
Is this the foundation of the "reproductive rights" movement?
Mike Lee, like Ted Cruz, is a treasure, a blessing to Americans.
Any law that restricts the free exercise of religion should be null and void, due to the 1st Amendment, which forbids Congress from passing such a law.
All well and good that “churches shouldn’t be forced to perform gay marriages”.
HOWEVER! A lot of churches have that little nasty IRS document labeling that church to be in accordance with 503-C tax status. The IRS started shutting churches down a few years ago, if you remember, for podium speakers outcrying the ills of the government, during their sermons.
My question is this: “If you believe enough that Providence is the head of your church, why are you petitioning for governmental legitimacy through application for IRS 503-C approved status?”
Wouldn’t you think that if Providence so ordained you to obey the call, and do the work, that you would ‘be covered’, 503-C or not?”
Since God doesn’t approve of homosexuality, much less this perversion of His institution of marriage, why in the world do homosexuals want to come to the church? Unless, of course, it’s to stick it to Christians who actually believe God’s Word as written in the Bible.
Pastors and Churches have always had the right to determine whom they will marry.
For example, the couple needs to have been baptized or no marriage by that Pastor or at that church.
The government never started making laws saying Pastor or church must marry non-baptized people.
There are myriad examples of similar situations.
This is an example of the special superior status afforded one sub-set of society.
That’s exactly why they want to do this. Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be trying to do this a mosque. Wonder why? ;)
Sounds like you 1) don’t like church tax exempt status and 2) believe rights come from government.
Artificial insemination — the Catholic Church for years and years has stood against and still stands against this just as it has stood against
embryonic stem cell research
contraception
same-sex marriage
euthanasia
abortion
We also have “straight” anal sodomy, as well as contraception, sterilization and abortion, which makes most married husband-and-wfe couples, in effect, heterosexual gays.
It's not just about $$$, it's about survival of some religious groups and the performance of their mission. Think of the Catholic hospitals that refuse to perform abortions. They'll have to close.
They're trying to force citizens into one religion, the Religion of Liberalism.
Good point. . .however. . .
IMHO, if you believe in evolution, man and woman evolved to perform two separate sexual functions.
If you believe in Creationism, then God created man and woman to perform two separate sexual functions.
Either way, it is normal for a man and a woman to have sexual relations.
It is abnormal for a man to have sexual relations with another man, or a woman with another woman.
Are homos ‘born that way?” Who knows, but that is irrelevant when it comes to defining normal.
For example, some people are born with a heart defect, that is natural but hardly normal.
Cheers.
“The IRS started shutting churches down a few years ago, if you remember, for podium speakers outcrying the ills of the government, during their sermons.”
Indeed they did. . .when the speakers spoke against liberal policies.
Oddly, the IRS never goes after those activist Black churches that rally for DEMONcRATS.
It is shame that it has all come down to this. We are debating whether or not churches should be allowed to conduct certain marriage ceremonies or not.
Even if the IRS exempts gay marriages, what about gay janitors, history teachers, or part-time workers? The IRS will have authority over the sexual policies of every square inch of a conservative church or Christian school.
It is not their tax status that grants them freedom of religion. It is the first amendment.
In those states where the government is willing to grant marriage licenses to gays, the government free to have a justice of the peace perform the ceremony. But the churches are free to decline to perform a ceremony if it does not in accordance with their beliefs.
I cannot demand to have a marriage ceremony performed at a church no more than I can go to the local VFW and insist that the bartender marry us.
There are “Christians” who don’t believe a word of the Bible.
That’s what has gotten the society and country where it is. The church stopped believing anything and instead tried to be popular so they could get more people to pad their numbers.
Yes, “should”. But when the judicial and executive branches both ignore the laws and Constitution, and there are enough traitors in the legislative branch that the Constitutional remedy will never be employed - what you’ve got is absolute power. And we all know that means absolute corruption. IOW, you have no rule of law.
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