Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Buffman · 08-13-2002, 04:49 PM

(Moderators: Perhaps this deserves a link with other forums.)

Date: 14 Aug 2002 00:11:14 -0000
From: "The Interfaith Alliance" <web@interfaithalliance.org>
Subject: Protect Integrity of Houses of Worship

HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP TO BRING JONES `CHURCH-POLITICKING`BILL TO FLOOR WITHIN WEEKS. RELIGIOUS-RIGHT RALLIES GRASSROOTS TO SUPPORT H.R. 2357!

In a stunning backroom political maneuver that could hand the Religious Right lobby their biggest win in years, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) reached an agreement with the House leadership to allow him to bring the "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act," H.R. 2357, directly to the House floor for a vote.
The vote is expected within days of the House returning from their August recess.

Caving to the demands of the Religious Right, Jones and the GOP leadership, three of whom are sponsors of the bill, have chosen to bypass the committee process by scheduling the bill for a vote under suspension of the rules in early September. Due to legal and ethical concerns, as well as widespread opposition to the bill
from religious and faith-based organizations, the influential House Ways & Means Committee had held the Jones bill in limbo for nearly a year, refusing to schedule the bill for a committee vote.

With 128 co-sponsors to date, the threat of the Jones bill receiving the required two-thirds vote of those present on the House floor is very real. Senators Bob Smith, Jesse Helms and Tim Hutchinson also recently introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

Crafted by attorneys from Pat Robertson`s American
Center for Law and Justice, H.R. 2357 would radically alter the tax code by allowing houses of worship to endorse political candidates, lobby for legislation, create political action committees (PACs) and funnel political donations to partisan political causes and candidates. Currently, houses of worship have an `absolute prohibition` on partisan political activities. Despite the rhetoric surrounding this legislation, however, there is nothing in current law that prohibits houses of worship from speaking to issues of the day.

TIA supporters are urged to use our Interfaith Action Center to send an email to their member of Congress alerting them to the upcoming floor vote and asking them to stand up for religious liberty and the integrity of houses of worship by voting NO on H.R. 2357. Your action on this bill today is more important than ever.We also urge you to use the "Tell-a-Friend" option to spread this alert to as many allies as possible.

The Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America and Coral Ridge Ministries are all working together to pass H.R. 2357. To date, they claim to have collected nearly 100,000 petitions in favor of the bill.

Your actions today could not be more important to the defense of religious liberty and the separation of church and state!

To see sample letters-to-the-editor, please visit:

http://www.interfaithalliance.org/In...es/letters.htm

For more information on H.R. 2357, please visit:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.02357:

To read the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy`s testimony before the House Subcommittee on Oversight Committee regardingHR. 2357, please visit:

http://www.interfaithalliance.org/In...s/020514t.html

Support the work of The Interfaith Alliance:

https://www.interfaithalliance.org/ssl/secure.html

[ August 13, 2002: Message edited by: Buffman ]

Toto · 08-13-2002, 05:17 PM

Here's the last thread on this topic:

"Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act" rears ugly head

Americans United press release

Buffman · 08-13-2002, 06:19 PM

<a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.02357:" target="_blank">http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.02357:</a>

crazyfingers · 08-13-2002, 06:23 PM

I wonder if the ACLU will do an Action Alert on this.

Buffman · 08-13-2002, 06:47 PM

So, if the Faith Based Initiative goes into full swing, then I guess taxpayer money will go to the government, who will pass some on to the religious organizations, who will use it to get more of their political sweethearts elected to government. Hmmmmmm? What's wrong with this picture?

I think that one of the most important items is to identify the co-sponsors of this Bill and make it clear to them that everything possible will be done to see to it that they fail in any re-election bid.

OR, lobby those who are opposed to this bill to draft an Amendment using the same free speech fairness doctrine under which this Bill is being mounted. Any religious organization that financially contributes to a political campaign, at any level of government, is subject to all the laws, regulations and reporting procedures of any other political action group. Additionally, "all" religious property becomes fully taxable under IRS and state tax rules. (Grrrrrrr) <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

CaptainDave · 08-13-2002, 06:59 PM

AU sent me a Legislative Alert on this last week.

Splat · 08-13-2002, 07:42 PM

Here's what <a href="http://www.au.org/press/pr080702.htm" target="_blank">AU has to say about it.</a>

If AU's correct, there isn't much popular support for this. Given the tremendous promise it holds for generating strife within denominations, I wonder where the mainstream denominations stand?

Too bad the satanists who are supporting the godless march aren't sending out letters of support to congress.

Buffman · 08-13-2002, 08:18 PM

These are the items that motivated me to post this particular alert of all the alerts...especially given the "under God" vote in the House and Senate. IMHO, the TIA is exactly the kind of organization to whom freethinkers should be giving their support on a church-state issue like this if we want them to take a more active role in supporting the removal of the "under God" part of the PoA.

In a stunning backroom political maneuver that could hand the Religious Right lobby their biggest win in years, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) reached an agreement with the House leadership to allow him to bring the``Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act,``H.R. 2357, directly to the House floor for a vote.

Caving to the demands of the Religious Right, Jones and the GOP leadership, three of whom are sponsors of the bill, have chosen to bypass the committee process by scheduling the bill for a vote under suspension of the rules in early September.

With 128 co-sponsors to date, the threat of the Jones bill receiving the required two-thirds vote of those present on the House floor is very real. Senators Bob Smith, Jesse Helms and Tim Hutchinson also recently introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
Crafted by attorneys from Pat Robertson`s American Center for Law and Justice,...

Given that 128 co-sponsors are already committed to vote for this Bill, and the mind boggling vote of both houses concerning the "under God" Bill, I no longer have the confidence I once did about how these people will vote when threatened by the Christian Right. Please note the religious distribution within the current Congress.

<a href="http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html" target="_blank">http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html</a>

CaptainDave · 08-13-2002, 08:21 PM

Splat said,

Quote:

Too bad the satanists who are supporting the godless march aren't sending out letters of support to congress.

I'm suprised to learn that anyone here is close enough to the satanists to know what they are doing or not doing.

I'm not sure what the point of that remark was. It sounded like a jab at anyone who supports the godless march. Sorry, Splat, if I misinterpreted you. Please set the record straight if I did.

For the record, I support the godless march, I'm certainly not a satanist and I did send out letters to congress expressing my opposition to H.R. 2357.

CaptainDave · 08-13-2002, 08:52 PM

Buffman,

Thank's for the post on TIA. I had never heard of this organization before. It's a great site for liberal Christians who support CSS. It appeals to their beliefs in a way that AU probably never could.

08-13-2002, 04:49 PM	#1
Buffman Beloved Deceased Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: central Florida Posts: 3,546	The Interfaith Alliance Alert (Moderators: Perhaps this deserves a link with other forums.) Date: 14 Aug 2002 00:11:14 -0000 From: "The Interfaith Alliance" <web@interfaithalliance.org> Subject: Protect Integrity of Houses of Worship HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP TO BRING JONES `CHURCH-POLITICKING`BILL TO FLOOR WITHIN WEEKS. RELIGIOUS-RIGHT RALLIES GRASSROOTS TO SUPPORT H.R. 2357! In a stunning backroom political maneuver that could hand the Religious Right lobby their biggest win in years, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) reached an agreement with the House leadership to allow him to bring the "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act," H.R. 2357, directly to the House floor for a vote. The vote is expected within days of the House returning from their August recess. Caving to the demands of the Religious Right, Jones and the GOP leadership, three of whom are sponsors of the bill, have chosen to bypass the committee process by scheduling the bill for a vote under suspension of the rules in early September. Due to legal and ethical concerns, as well as widespread opposition to the bill from religious and faith-based organizations, the influential House Ways & Means Committee had held the Jones bill in limbo for nearly a year, refusing to schedule the bill for a committee vote. With 128 co-sponsors to date, the threat of the Jones bill receiving the required two-thirds vote of those present on the House floor is very real. Senators Bob Smith, Jesse Helms and Tim Hutchinson also recently introduced companion legislation in the Senate. Crafted by attorneys from Pat Robertson`s American Center for Law and Justice, H.R. 2357 would radically alter the tax code by allowing houses of worship to endorse political candidates, lobby for legislation, create political action committees (PACs) and funnel political donations to partisan political causes and candidates. Currently, houses of worship have an `absolute prohibition` on partisan political activities. Despite the rhetoric surrounding this legislation, however, there is nothing in current law that prohibits houses of worship from speaking to issues of the day. TIA supporters are urged to use our Interfaith Action Center to send an email to their member of Congress alerting them to the upcoming floor vote and asking them to stand up for religious liberty and the integrity of houses of worship by voting NO on H.R. 2357. Your action on this bill today is more important than ever.We also urge you to use the "Tell-a-Friend" option to spread this alert to as many allies as possible. The Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America and Coral Ridge Ministries are all working together to pass H.R. 2357. To date, they claim to have collected nearly 100,000 petitions in favor of the bill. Your actions today could not be more important to the defense of religious liberty and the separation of church and state! To see sample letters-to-the-editor, please visit: http://www.interfaithalliance.org/In...es/letters.htm For more information on H.R. 2357, please visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.02357: To read the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy`s testimony before the House Subcommittee on Oversight Committee regardingHR. 2357, please visit: http://www.interfaithalliance.org/In...s/020514t.html Support the work of The Interfaith Alliance: https://www.interfaithalliance.org/ssl/secure.html [ August 13, 2002: Message edited by: Buffman ]

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08-13-2002, 05:17 PM	#2
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Here's the last thread on this topic: "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act" rears ugly head Americans United press release

08-13-2002, 06:19 PM	#3
Buffman Beloved Deceased Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: central Florida Posts: 3,546	<a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.02357:" target="_blank">http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.02357:</a>

08-13-2002, 06:23 PM	#4
crazyfingers Contributor Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Massachusetts, USA Posts: 13,699	I wonder if the ACLU will do an Action Alert on this.

08-13-2002, 06:47 PM	#5
Buffman Beloved Deceased Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: central Florida Posts: 3,546	So, if the Faith Based Initiative goes into full swing, then I guess taxpayer money will go to the government, who will pass some on to the religious organizations, who will use it to get more of their political sweethearts elected to government. Hmmmmmm? What's wrong with this picture? I think that one of the most important items is to identify the co-sponsors of this Bill and make it clear to them that everything possible will be done to see to it that they fail in any re-election bid. OR, lobby those who are opposed to this bill to draft an Amendment using the same free speech fairness doctrine under which this Bill is being mounted. Any religious organization that financially contributes to a political campaign, at any level of government, is subject to all the laws, regulations and reporting procedures of any other political action group. Additionally, "all" religious property becomes fully taxable under IRS and state tax rules. (Grrrrrrr) <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

08-13-2002, 06:59 PM	#6
CaptainDave Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Florida Keys Posts: 119	AU sent me a Legislative Alert on this last week.

08-13-2002, 07:42 PM	#7
Splat Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Hell, PA Posts: 599	Here's what <a href="http://www.au.org/press/pr080702.htm" target="_blank">AU has to say about it.</a> If AU's correct, there isn't much popular support for this. Given the tremendous promise it holds for generating strife within denominations, I wonder where the mainstream denominations stand? Too bad the satanists who are supporting the godless march aren't sending out letters of support to congress.

08-13-2002, 08:18 PM	#8
Buffman Beloved Deceased Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: central Florida Posts: 3,546	These are the items that motivated me to post this particular alert of all the alerts...especially given the "under God" vote in the House and Senate. IMHO, the TIA is exactly the kind of organization to whom freethinkers should be giving their support on a church-state issue like this if we want them to take a more active role in supporting the removal of the "under God" part of the PoA. In a stunning backroom political maneuver that could hand the Religious Right lobby their biggest win in years, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) reached an agreement with the House leadership to allow him to bring the``Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act,``H.R. 2357, directly to the House floor for a vote. Caving to the demands of the Religious Right, Jones and the GOP leadership, three of whom are sponsors of the bill, have chosen to bypass the committee process by scheduling the bill for a vote under suspension of the rules in early September. With 128 co-sponsors to date, the threat of the Jones bill receiving the required two-thirds vote of those present on the House floor is very real. Senators Bob Smith, Jesse Helms and Tim Hutchinson also recently introduced companion legislation in the Senate. Crafted by attorneys from Pat Robertson`s American Center for Law and Justice,... Given that 128 co-sponsors are already committed to vote for this Bill, and the mind boggling vote of both houses concerning the "under God" Bill, I no longer have the confidence I once did about how these people will vote when threatened by the Christian Right. Please note the religious distribution within the current Congress. <a href="http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html" target="_blank">http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html</a>

08-13-2002, 08:52 PM	#10
CaptainDave Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Florida Keys Posts: 119	Buffman, Thank's for the post on TIA. I had never heard of this organization before. It's a great site for liberal Christians who support CSS. It appeals to their beliefs in a way that AU probably never could.

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