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Atheist Group Sues IRS Over Churches Endorsing Politics
(WNS)–After 1,586 pastors purposely broke the law Oct. 7 by endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, an atheist group has taken the bait and sued the Internal Revenue Service Wednesday for not taking action against these pastors’ churches.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) started Pulpit Freedom Sunday in 2008 to challenge the constitutionality of the 1954 Johnson Amendment that prohibits tax-exempt churches from making political endorsements. ADF hoped the IRS would take action so that a lawsuit could be filed that would repeal the law.
“It’s outrageous for pastors and churches to be threatened or punished by the government for applying biblical teachings to all areas of life, including candidates and elections,” ADF legal counsel Erik Stanley told Focus on the Family’s Citizen Link last month. He added that the purpose of the October event was “to make sure that the pastor, and not the IRS, decides what is said from the pulpit.”
But the IRS has not taken action against the churches or pastors, so the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Madison arguing that the IRS is not enforcing the federal tax code.
The FFRF claims that churches and other religious organizations have become more involved in political campaigns, adding that they are “blatantly and deliberately flaunting the electioneering restrictions.”
The lawsuit also cites full-page ads run this fall in The New York Times and other newspapers by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association featuring a photo of Billy Graham urging Americans to vote applying biblical principles without explicitly naming a candidate.
Russell Renwicks, a manager in the IRS’s Mid-Atlantic region, said in October that the agency had suspended audits of churches suspected of breaching federal restrictions on political activity. A 2009 federal court ruling required the IRS to clarify which high-ranking official could authorize audits over the tax code’s political rules. The IRS has yet to do so.
Arkansas Porn Shop to Fight City Ordinance
(WNS)–An adult store in Clarksville, Ark., may challenge the constitutionality of a city ordinance regulating sexually oriented businesses, the state Supreme Court ruled recently.
According to the decision, the X-Mart Adult Superstore may fight the city’s 2006 ordinance requiring pornography shops to be licensed and regulated. Violations could result in up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Bruce Wilson, Clarksville’s city attorney, said the town stands by the ordinance.
“It’s been studied and passed in a manner that’s proper, and as it comes back to the local court, we’ll certainly defend it as vigorously as we can,” he said.
The ordinance gave businesses the opportunity to apply for and receive six-month extensions over a three-year time frame. X-Mart applied for and received one six-month extension, which expired on July 27, 2009. It did not request any others.
In September 2009, the city of Clarksville filed a lawsuit asking the court to close X-Mart. 40 Retail, which operates the store, filed a counterclaim alleging the ordinance violates its freedom of expression.
In January, a Johnson County circuit judge granted a motion for the city, dismissing 40 Retail’s counterclaim.
In its ruling in November, the state Supreme Court said Clarksville’s ordinance on sexually oriented businesses does not provide any benefits to 40 Retail, allowing the store to move forward with its counterclaim.
California Town May Sell Cross To Avoid Lawsuit
(WNS)–A cross erected in Riverside, Calif., more than 100 years ago on land that was then private property may be sold to the highest bidder in order for the city to avoid a lawsuit.
The Father Junipero Cross was dedicated in 1907 on Mount Rubidoux to commemorate Father Junipero Serra was appointed to the charge of the California missions in 1767.
Serra founded the missions, which became the first settlements of civilized people in California. In 1909, President William Howard Taft dedicated a plaque to Junipero near the cross. But in 1955, the mountain became a public park.
On Aug. 28, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State wrote a letter to the Riverside City Council complaining that the cross violates the U.S. Constitution, and that it either should be moved or the city should sell the land to a private entity.
“This is about hatred for religious truth,” said California Family Policy Council President Ron Prentice. “Americans United’s mission is to destroy any evidence of historic public symbols that represent Christianity’s meaning or impact.”
The cross on Mount Rubidoux has been appreciated by the people of Riverside for more than a century, Prentice said.
“And now a D.C.-based organization — whose mission, ironically, is to ‘ensure religious freedom for all Americans’ — is attempting to take away those freedoms of expression,” he said.
Riverside officials recognize that the case law is against them and are discussing whether to sell the 0.43 acres surrounding the cross, Councilmember Mike Gardner told The Press Enterprise.
Tennessee Church Fights for Tax Exemption
(WNS)–A Tennessee church challenging the government’s authority to make decisions about how Christian ministry is defined participated in a court hearing Wednesday morning.
Christ Church Pentecostal in Nashville is appealing a lower court’s decision to deny tax exemptions for part of its property, finding that portions of the church’s facilities are not an integral part of the church’s ministry, even though they are used in outreach efforts. Similar facilities that are not church-owned are tax-exempt, according to state law.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said churches shouldn’t be treated differently than other entities. “It’s a widely known fact that churches across America effectively use facilities such as gyms and bookstores for clear religious purposes and are exempt from property taxes just like other organizations that serve the community — often at a loss,” he said.
“Really what the state was doing was attempting to define what ministry was for Christ Church by telling them that they can’t use their facilities to reach out to evangelize, to build up their own membership,” Stanley said.