With gay marriage decided, what will be the next big left-led social change?

Maybe you're right. I just assumed they were both exempt.

 

What kind of battle will rage when liberals who want to take away the tax-exempt status of churches that don't perform gay marriages find out the astronomical number of African-American churches who most assuredly won't sanction gay marriage? You going to go up to the pastor of some inner-city church that caters to the poor, feeds the hungry, etc., (as most do) and tell him he's got to pony up the taxes? Good-bye any church-related charity work and likely good-bye to the church. African-Americans, by and large, have usually bristled when gays have equated their struggle with the Civil Rights movement.

But does anyone think that liberals will wage some kind of court battle that will put them on opposite side of the African-American voting bloc? The ministers can deliver votes to anyone with one 30-second mention at the end of the church announcements and before the sermon.

Also, will the libs go after the tax-exempt status of Islamic religious institutions, mosques, etc., in America? You know it will be a cold day in hell before a gay marriage is ever performed in a mosque. But libs have this nervous relationship with Islam (how much do women's groups like the NOW ever condemn the treatment of women in that religion). Interesting to see if they'll do anything at all.

 

For every mega-church and thieving rock-star minister, there are thousands of struggling churches in the inner city and rural areas that would have to shut down if they lose tax-exempt status. Do you really want that?

 

No, it's not a particularly well thought out desire, nor is it one I feel all that passionate about. It's clear some of the mega-clowns are abusing the system.

 

This is true. However, they shouldn't have a problem retaining the status. Gotta have a better review process on the bad offenders at the mega churches.

 

They need to stop doing their polls exclusively in gay bars.

When people get behind the curtain of the polling place they've consistently voted their conscience, which is why gay marriage is oh-fer in referendums.

 

Not quite. Minnesotans went behind the curtains and voted against a constitutional amendment limited marriage to one man/one woman. (Even if a majority of the Court had ruled there was no Constitutional right to same-sex marriage, that ruling would not have done anything to change the law subsequently passed in MN explicitly allowing same-sex marriage - nor in any of the other states with such a law.)

YF and whoever else has been discussing church/nonprofits/taxes - you are mixing up different taxes and different exemptions/exclusions. Religious and charitable organizations are exempt from federal income tax under 501(c)(3). Unrelated business income is taxable. Lots of different rules apply at the state level, depending on the type of tax.

Property tax exemptions, especially for churches, are often found in state constitutions. Maybe all states. I couldn't quickly find a chart of religious/charitable/ organizations and various state tax favored treatment. The provisions I've seen, whether constitutional or statutory, limit the exemption to property owned and used by the religious organization, so property not used for church purposes or leased to third parties would be subject to property tax. I've seen cases that exclude a church owned parsonage from the exemption. The NY constitution, for example, has an owned and used limitation. State laws, in any event, are never 100% uniform, so there will be variations across the country about exactly what property is covered and exactly who is included. Then, a particular state may have different qualifications for religious institution exemption from income tax, property tax and sales/use tax.

 

Thanks Amy ... for giggles I looked up how it's handled in Texas. My eyes got really, really blurry and I very quickly decided I was better suited for parsing New Mexico Supreme Court decisions.

 

Prostitution.

Sex is legal. Giving money is free speech. So why isn't free speech for sex legal?

 

You're a weird cat, man. Sometimes it's a marvel to think you practiced journalism for a long time with how willing you are to bend or misrepresent facts to fit your ideology. It's about a fascinating as having a debate with a door, frankly. But since you brought it up, let's correct the record. In Maine, Maryland and Washington state, gay marriage all passed on a statewide ballot. Interesting way to describe an "oh-fer."

 

I'm shocked that a journalist would be obsessed with ideology.

 

It's not about left or right or political views; it's about generations of children coming of age to correct what they see is wrong with what their grandparents and great grand parents are thinking.

In 1985, you would have thought the world was going to end when a black family got a prime time show in The Cosby Show. About 20 years later, a black man was elected president.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. Twenty years later, the Civil Rights Act was passed and in full swing.

In the mid 1940s, men came home from a terrible war. Twenty years later, the children that saw that protested the next war.

People used to smoke everywhere, never use seat belts, litter like crazy, not use car seats, think everyone with tan or yellow skin would speak with an accent... everything changes, or corrects itself, over time.