Openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson has endorsed Barack Obama for President and it may get him in trouble with the IRS. “While endorsing specific issues and or programs is not uncommon, lending the support of the episcopal office to a single candidate is uncommon. It also skirts US tax laws, as clergy or church endorsements are prohibited by a 1954 amendment to the Internal Revenue Code.” Robinson said of Obama, “we have someone who is utterly sympathetic to our full and equal rights as citizens.” Amen.
Gay Bishop Backs Obama, Skirts IRS?
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emb
Well hell, if Robinson gets in tax trouble over his comment, then certainly I’d expect pat robertson and the family research council and all the other various and sundry rightwing religious tax-exempt nutjobs lose theirs as well.
DairyQueen
The law is the law, regardless if he is gay or not. If he is endorsing the wrong way, he should lose his tax-exempt status. All organized cults need to be looked over.
john
Pat Robertson runs a company, not a church. The Bishop should not have put his diocese in this situation. He, again, assumes that becuase he is the “gay Bishop” everyone wants to hear what he has to say. He has brought emabaresment and shame to the Episciopal Church, its about time the Archbishop yanked the Mitre off his head.
tallskin
I am with DairyQueen on this. Why should a belief in a sky pixie entitle you to tax exemption???? Absurd.
It is even worse here where the UK tax payer and the lottery give our money to the religiously afflicted to run things, including some schools etc. And some sky pixie bishops actually have reserved seats in the Upper house of Parliament.
No, sack the lot of ’em. if they want to believe in nonsense then they can do so without my tax money subsidising the fuckers.