Well it appears we can all breathe a small sigh of relief, for now.
The awful so-called “religious freedom” executive order everyone feared President Trump would sign on Thursday giving businesses a widespread right to discriminate against LGBTQ people will reportedly be significantly less awful than expected, but awful nonetheless.
Let’s digest.
Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, and rumors have been spreading all week that Trump has been diligently sharpening his pen to sign a “religious freedom” executive order to coincide with it.
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That got everyone — including us — twisted into a knot over whether that meant the leaked “religious freedom” order that circulated in February was going to return in some form.
Now it’s being widely reported that the order Trump plans to sign focuses instead on his campaign promise to do away with the Johnson Amendment, which limits how far tax-exempt churches (i.e., all of them) can go in endorsing political candidates.
But Trump’s order — which we’re fairly certain he’ll talk a huge, incredible, amazing, fantastic game over — won’t actually do much in the way of eliminating the Johnson Amendment, as Congress would have to pass legislation to change the tax code provision.
Instead, it directs the IRS to “exercise maximum enforcement discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson amendment.”
“All laws still apply,” said one official who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity.
The order will also help for-profit companies deny contraception coverage in their employee health insurance plans — a position the Supreme Court has already reenforced in its Hobby Lobby decision. So, more bad news.
Jennifer Jacobs, the White House reporter for Bloomberg News, shared this one-sheet the press corps received Wednesday night:
Here's the one-pager White House aides handed out in briefing room tonight on tomorrow's religious liberty executive order. pic.twitter.com/Bd8KF1KCbL
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) May 4, 2017
Richard 55
I knew he wouldn’t sign it. Trump tricked the Left Wing LGBT media yet again.
mhoffman953
I figured the same and even said the same many times on here, but it didn’t stop the media from running fake news. There were countless stories on here pushing fear mongering about it
Kieru
Let’s assume for a moment that this is literally all that the EO does and that the order itself isn’t shot down for essentially trying to bypass passed legislation. Consider the ramifications.
501(c)(3) organizations would be able to promote political candidates. This in turn would encourage political contributions (bribes) so that Church A would endorse Candidate B. Because the organization is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, your political contribution could be a tax exemption.
510(c)(3) organizations also have less-rigorous reporting on where their money comes from.
By “loosening” the Johnson Amendment Donald Trump is effectively allowing an even greater amount of ‘dark money’ coming into political campaigns. He’s also allowing contributions to potentially afford massive tax breaks, and he’s doing all of this in such a way that it focuses large sums of money toward the very organizations that have been at the heart of LGBTQ+ discrimination.
“Tricked” is the wrong word. He’s merely coming at it from an angle that keeps his hands clean. He can stand in from of a podium and claim to support LGBTQ+ issues but “The people” clearly don’t and point at all the politicians these churches have now bought.
sfsilver
This shrewd calculating person you imagine Trump to be who “tricks” the “left wing LGBT media” isn’t born out by any other action he has made. He’s a bumbling amateur. He’s dangerous, but not out of any planning, strategy or thought.
1EqualityUSA
It’s the dark passengers around Trump who tell him what his next devastating move should be, especially with regard the LGBT community. 2018. Let’s run the GOP outta Dodge.
WillParkinson
Trust him if you want. The man is a con artist and a panderer. He’ll say whatever he thinks will get him ‘fans’.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
Him being a panderer is a good thing as it turns out. He’s not going to go too far in the wrong direction either.
Mo Bro
Donald Trump could declare a national gay holiday and his gay naysayers would still find reason to hate him even more.
Such is the derangement of brainwashed liberals.
whatevz
I can’t speak for everyone but I’ll stop hating the stupid lying racist perv when he and his special needs children, (children from at least 3 women we know he raped including the mistake with his dumb foreign escort) are all decomposing six feet under
MacAdvisor
Donald Trump would no more declare a national gay holiday (say, Harvey Milk Day) than he could spread his arms and fly to the moon. The man is a intellectually-challenged, ignorant doofus whose presidency we can only hope to survive without too much damage.
mhoffman953
@MacAdvisor If he’s such a “doofus”, how did he turn a $200 million company into a multi-billion dollar company and successfully beat 17 Republicans and a one of the highest ranking Democrats in his first ever run at the presidency?
1EqualityUSA
By declaring bankruptcy five times over, not paying carpenters for work, cheating, and being a con man. Why didn’t Trump pay back those left holding his stinky, wrinkled bag once he became solvent?
DCguy
In other words, they got massive backlash and his advisors told him that the courts would strike it down so they rewrote it slightly.
I love the one trump troll and their other screenames making Trump into such a victim.
Boo Hoo! If Trump DID do something good, “The LEFT” would still hate him.
Well lets test out that theory. Why don’t you all let us know when he DOES do something good for LGBTs here in America. Or, you know, you could just keep crying you little snowflakes.
mhoffman953
@DCguy If you have proof that everyone who disagrees with you is actually all one person with multiple screen names, share your evidence. Otherwise it just continues to make you look foolish.
Also, Trump has kept in place prior executive orders which extend protections for LGBT people in federal positions and federal contractors. Will you concede that is a good thing on his part?
Additionally, the upcoming tax plan will help LGBT people and all Americans when they file their taxes.
1EqualityUSA
DCGuy is spot on. Trolls sound foolish.
mhoffman953
I’m starting to think DCguy and 1EqualityUSA are the same person congratulating himself on the stuff he writes
1EqualityUSA
Anyone see the fly swatter?
Mo Bro
@mhoff:
Since he/she is frequently accusing anyone who doesn’t hate Trump as being the same commenter utilizing different names, it’s all beginning to make sense now . . .
Kieran
So President Trump removed the parts of the “religious freedom” order that would have given religious groups the green light to discriminate against people for being gay. I guess we’re seeing those “New York Values” that Ted Cruz warned us about.
sylvialucas444
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1EqualityUSA
sylvialucas444’s comment was more interesting.