Add St Raphael Catholic Church to my list of heroes. The El Paso Catholic congregation is in hot water with Barry Lynn’s outfit (Americans United for the Separation of Church and State) – which wants to put them in hot water with the IRS – for offering a notice in their bulletin urging people NOT to vote for Barack Obama.
The First Amendment forbids churches from this kind of activity, insist Lynn and company.
To which Gary DeMar responds below: Really? Read the First Amendment and get back to me on that claim.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State reported St. Raphael Catholic Church, a Roman Catholic Church in El Paso, Texas, “to the Internal Revenue Service after the church allegedly ran a notice in its bulletin that encouraged parishioners not to vote for President Barack Obama in the upcoming election.”
Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, tried to intimidate church officials by claiming “federal law prohibits tax exempt, non-profit organizations (including houses of worship) from intervening in elections like this.” By citing “federal law” instead of the First Amendment, Lynn is engaged in a bit of legal sleight of hand.
The First Amendment does not prohibit churches from speaking out on any issue including political ones, even if they are tax exempt. The amendment is so clear that liberals almost never cite it:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” …
Read More at: Church Says Don’t Vote for Obama
Image courtesy of: Ken Banks from Cambridge, UK
