STUNNER! CONGRESS CONSIDERING
FREE SPEECH FOR PASTORS, Proposal would overturn Lyndon
Johnson's censorship plan for critics, by Bob Unruh,2/1/17, WND
There’s a new boss in Washington and
new attention being paid to conservative issues, and now Congress is even
considering a plan that would restore free speech to church pastors, who were
among the targets of a measure initiated by Lyndon Johnson when he
fought for re-election to the Senate and wanted to shut up his
critics.
That was way back in 1954, when
Johnson – upset that a conservative organization was supporting his
opponent – forced his censorship plan through Congress.
It restricts the ability of
nonprofits, including churches, to make partisan political statements or endorsements.
President Trump expressed concern
about the IRS statute during the campaign, and even left-leaning
organizations have admitted it is an issue.
The argument for Johnson’s measure
is that organizations receiving tax-exempt status from the government should
not be permitted to support or oppose candidates for office. But it’s admitted
that Johnson likely was motivated by a desire to exact revenge when
he sponsored it.
The legal
powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom long
has run a Pulpit Freedom Sunday in which it encourages pastors to
challenges the rule, but the IRS hasn’t taken the bait to enforce the law
and force a court precedent. But now it’s in front of Congress again.
On Wednesday, Sen. James Lankford,
R-Okla., introduced into the Senate the Free Speech Fairness Act, which would
restore to nonprofits and houses of worship the freedom to speak about
electoral activity.
He explained in a website statement:
“Specifically, the Free Speech Fairness Act addresses the shortcomings of the
Johnson Amendment, which in 1954 was inserted into the Tax Code by then-Senator
Lyndon Johnson. The Johnson Amendment prohibits nonprofits and churches from
engaging in any activity that might be interpreted as participating in, or
intervening in a campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, a candidate for
public office, including a simple oral or written statement. During the 2016
presidential campaign, President Trump frequently expressed his desire to fix the
Johnson Amendment.
“The federal government and the IRS
should never have the ability to inhibit free speech,” continued Lankford. “The
Free Speech Fairness Act is needed to prevent government intrusion and
suppression of free speech by removing a restriction on speech that has existed
since 1954. The First Amendment right of free speech and right to practice any
faith, or no faith, are foundational American values that must extend to
everyone, whether they are a pastor, social worker or any charity employee or
volunteer. People who work for a nonprofit still have constitutional rights to
assembly, free speech, and free press.” House Majority Whip Steve Scalise,
R-La., is sponsor of the companion House bill.
ADF senior counsel Erik Stanley,
noted: “Americans don’t need a federal tax agency to be the speech police of
churches or any other non-profit groups, who have a constitutionally protected
freedom to decide for themselves what they want to say or not say. By removing
the threat of an IRS investigation and potential penalties based simply, for
example, on what a pastor says from the pulpit, this bill brings the law into
conformity with the First Amendment.
“It fixes a restriction enacted in
1954 that was never intended to affect churches and other non-profit groups but
has been used to intimidate them ever since. The government can’t base any tax
exemption on a requirement that a church or any other non-profit organization
surrender a constitutionally protected freedom, including free speech.”
ADF said it has been working to
overturn the restriction since 2008. And WND
has reported on the public challenge for years.
Thousands of pastors have told their
congregations what the Bible says about the positions held by candidates and
then informed the IRS of their actions without prompting a reaction.
As WND founder and Chief Executive
Officer Joseph Farah explained
in a commentary in 2008, Congress was
pushed by Johnson to adopt regulations for the IRS that ban churches from
endorsing candidates.
“Under the First Amendment, Congress
has no power to tax churches. Period. End of story. Under the First Amendment,
Congress has no power to stifle freedom of speech. Ever since 1954, the
government has unevenly applied its illegitimate oversight of churches –
winking as some pastors turn their churches over to political candidates to
make stump speeches, while warning others it is inappropriate. There is only
one real solution – repeal the Johnson Amendment,” he wrote.
“The Johnson Amendment commissioned
the IRS to be a ‘speech cop,’ a role it should not have,” ADF Litigation
Counsel Christiana Holcomb explained when the issue arose earlier. “This law
was specifically designed to silence public criticism of a politician. That’s
clearly in conflict with the First Amendment. Political retribution to protect
the powerful has never been the basis of good law.”
Comments
The repeal of the Johnson Rule is a
good start on repealing bad law in the US. The Black churches just ignored this
rule and were never questioned. There are now more Conservative Black churches,
because we have more Conservative Black Pastors.
The traditional White churches used
the rule as cover when their parishioners were split on their political
views. This should give them a chance to
begin a dialogue if they are careful about it and brave enough. They will
discover that Liberals have cherry-picked Bible verses to justify Socialism and
don’t really believe that individuals will voluntarily help others. People
actually quit churches because of their differing political views. I can see
parishes forming to accommodate parishioners.
You could see a Democrat Catholic church within a few miles of the
Republican Catholic church. If churches are not brave, they could miss out on
this opportunity. Members of the Clergy
in white churches need to meet and get a game-plan on how to handle this new
freedom.
I grew up Catholic in the 1940s and
1950s and all of my teachers were Conservatives, right up the 1960s at St.
Louis University. I’ve watched the
Liberal infestation of Catholicism for the past 40 years and these Liberals
need to
moderate their views. We had Conservative Popes until we got Pope
Francis.
Evangelical Protestant White
churches that are already mostly Conservative will celebrate the repeal of the
Johnson rule and unleash their sermons accordingly.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party
Leader
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