Taxes and Proposition 8

Since the passing of Proposition 8 there has been a lot of talk about where the money to get it passed came from.  There has been both a call for boycotts of companies owned by the Mormon Church and a lot of gay people saying they aren’t going to pay their taxes.

Generally I find boycotts to be kind of stupid.  It seems that they don’t really work because while you have people boycotting it also seems that it gets people on the other side to support those businesses.  Also sometimes people can’t boycott places because they just can’t afford it.

When it comes to the Mormon Church (and understand anything said here is directed at the Church and primarily it’s leaders because not all Mormon’s are on the side of inequality) I think the bigger impact can be made by rallying to have their tax exempt status taken away.  When you see the list of companies that they have a stake it it becomes more apparent that they are a for profit corporation hiding behind the veil of a tax exempt non-profit religion.

Some people say that the church itself didn’t give money so they shouldn’t loose their tax exempt status.  I’d actually challenge that because I’d look at the ties off all the people who gave money and how many of them worked for those companies on the boycott list.  The church may be able to hide behind it’s parishioners but, they did everything they could to encourage people across the country to give money.  (Personally I don’t think money should be allowed to cross state lines for individual state initiatives like this.)  They are also being investigated for paying to take people to California to work on the campaign.  And remember the current administration once threatened to take away the tax exempt status of the the NAACP just because the head of the organization spoke against President Bush.

I totally get why people like Melissa Ethridge and the person who commented on my last post say they aren’t going to pay taxes.  I would caution against that because deliberately not paying can get you thrown in jail.  However, you have to look at the obsurdity of the tax situation.  Here we have a huge number of people who are being made to pay the same taxes, and in a lot of cases higher taxes because they can’t get the same right offs as opposite-sex couples.  Not to mention that employer paid benefits for married couples are before taxes (basically not taxed) the money for the same benefits provided to a domestic partner are taxed.  That money comes out after taxes have been taken out of a persons check.

So that’s millions of people working, providing for themselves and their families, and they pay their state and federal taxes like everyone else.  Yet, they are not even close to being treated the same.  They aren’t given the same protections, they aren’t allowed the same benefits, hell they even have to fight to leave their hard earned money to the people they want to in some cases.  They do the same things to help this country run and don’t get the same things out of it.  Some of them still live in places where they have to fear for their jobs if people know the are gay.

The hypocrisy here is that this is all driven by the religious fear mongers.  Those fear mongers are then allowed to bring in all kinds of money for their churches (money that should be going to people in need) while paying now taxes on it.  On top of that they are then (thanks to the current administration and yes Obama plans to continue it) allowed to apply for grants from the government.  And where does that money they are asking for come from.  It comes from the tax dollars that we hard working Americans pay.  And that includes the tax dollars that gay Americans pay.  How messed up is that?

They don’t have to pay taxes yet, they get to not only have access to the tax money we all pay they also get to work to take away rights of the Americans that pay those taxes.

It is time that the religions of this country lose their tax exempt status.  Remember there is nothing in the Constitution that says that churches are entitled to anything especially special exemptions under the law.  What it does say is the freedom of religious expression.  And that is aimed at the individual it was not designed to give religions and churches the right to circumvent the law or have special privileges.

Can You Say Un-American?

I just read an article over a lawsuit in Pennsylvania about dress codes at the voting booth. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081004/ap_on_el_pr/what_voters_wear;_ylt=At5VdcR89a5xkbH5bct25UFsnwcF

Apparently you aren’t allowed to wear anything political when you go voting.  The article says there are a view other states with this law as well.  The Democrats are for them not following the dress code and the Republicans want it enforced.

Makes sense considering the Republicans are always talking about the ideals of this country and the Constitution and then doing everything they can to trample all over it.  At least the Democrats actually believe in it, they don’t just talk about it.

This notion that it is electioneering is just absurd.  When it comes election day and you are standing in line you generally know who you are voting for at that point and what you are voting yes or no on.  We have secret ballots for a reason and it’s so people aren’t harassed or attacked for how they vote.  If someone wants to be brave enough and wear something that says how they will be voting more power to them.  If some how that gets someone else to change their vote then fine.

Telling people they can’t wear a political shirt, button, sticker, hat, whatever, is extremely Un-American to me.  I mean come on first off voting is like one of the most patriotic things you can do and if you want to tell the world who you are voting for so be it.  Not only do you have a Constitutional right to vote you have a Constitutional right to free speech and that speech doesn’t always have to be spoken.  Telling someone they can’t vote until they stop using their 1st Amendment right violates a whole lot of stuff this country was founded on.

Anyone for this kind of law needs to take a good hard look at themselves in the mirror.  And then they need to ask themselves exactly what it is they think this country stands for and if they believe in those principals and the document that spells them out.

What’s next, ticketing cars with political stickers that park within a certain distance of the polls?

Free Nation or Christian Nation

There’s been a lot of debate lately over the question, Is the United States of America a free nation or a Christian nation? Take a minute to ponder and possibly be frightened by the fact that no one ever asks if it’s a free Christian nation. Which should to a degree answer the question.

And the answer is, it’s a free nation founded by people of different Christian faiths. I really don’t know why this is so hard for people to understand. The First Amendment to the Constitution reads Freedom of Religion. It does not say Freedom of Religion as long as that religion is Christianity.

This is one area where the founders were far more forward thinking than those who seek to shape our laws and future today. They knew that using religion to make and enforce laws was a bad idea. The reason they knew this was because, that’s how things were done in England at the time. If a new king or queen came to power whose religion was different than their predecessor people’s very way of life changed drastically. Those who didn’t practice the religion of the king or queen were persecuted. If they were brave enough to practice a religion other than that of the king or queen they had to do so secretly, risking death to do so.

This issue with religion caused great turmoil in a time and country where rulers came to power through their bloodlines. Which usually meant they’d go long periods of time under the rule of one religion before some distant branch of the family took over and changed religions. Imagine the havoc that would be wreaked upon our country when our leaders change every few years. The fact that our laws are determined by a group that is a mix of various religions is why religion is to be kept out of the process.

Consider how much trouble we have getting the Republican and Democratic parties to agree and imagine what it would be like if everyone was fighting for religious control. Sure our government is predominantly Christian but, which branch of Christianity should have control. Each branch practices the religion a different way. All of them follow different parts of the Bible more strictly than other parts. Which one should be the dominant one? Do you see the problems that would arise if that was how the government was run?

This is precisely why the founders made a nation founded on freedom and on religious freedom. They wanted people to be able to practice their religion as loosely or as strictly as possible without fear of punishment.

So the next time you go to church and/or dis someone else for their religious beliefs remember they are exercising the same right you are. Remember that if you aren’t careful your particular branch of Christianity could suddenly become the “bad” religion. Remember the same freedoms that allow you to go to church a couple times a year are the same ones that allow others to go weekly or not at all. And just as you wouldn’t like being forced to go every week they wouldn’t like being told when they can, can’t or have to go to church. Or which things they are suppose to adhere to more strictly than others. Nor would any of them (or you I’m sure) like being told that you can’t practice a certain religion.

Most importantly always remember it’s a free nation.

The 14th Amendment

Lately a lot of people give lips service to what is known as the “Equal Protection Clause” of the 14th Amendment. Most notably in the last few years it is the basis for most lawsuits in regards to forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and is what we in favor of same-sex marriage point to in our fight for equality. It is used by other people and groups who often win there cases while we lose ours.

People are always saying that the “Equal Protection Clause” doesn’t apply to LGBTQ people. They have various reasons for why it doesn’t apply. The two most common are 1) that the founders didn’t intend for it to protect people based on their sexual orientation. Anytime people start talking about what the founders intended I have to laugh. I always wonder exactly when they sat down and had a conversation with the founders. And 2) that sexual orientation isn’t a protected class so it doesn’t apply to them.

People could not be more wrong with either of these arguments and it proves that either they haven’t read the 14th Amendment or they are counting on the majority of the population never having read it. (There really should be a required course in middle school and/or high school on nothing but the Constitution.)

Anyway, just so people know the 14th Amendment was ratified on July 9, 1868. Which is actually almost 100 years after the Bill of Rights (that would be the first 10 Amendments) was ratified. Which means a whole other group of progressive forward thinking people were behind it. Also it was ratified long before there was such a thing as a “protected class” in this country.

There’s five sections to the 14th Amendment. Section 1 being the so-called “Equal Protection Clause” and it reads as follows:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Now that you’ve actually read it (possibly for the first time) I ask you exactly how do you figure it doesn’t apply to certain citizens of the country. Because I’ve read it serveral times an can not find anything about it only applying to “protected classes”. It applys to all citizens. Pure and simple if any one person is granted a protection or liberty then all persons have to be afforded those same things.

It’s not that hard to figure out that state governments and the federal government are in violation of this on a daily basis. And that the courts themselves are constantly violating. Which makes me wonder how many of those judges have actually read the Constitution.