Reply #7: Where the line is [View All]

The line is on named candidate advocacy. Issue advocacy is protected speech for any non-profit organization, religious or secular. Here's why: Because everything is political, right down to feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and caring for the sick. Someone somewhere makes a buck off of people being hungry, homeless or sick. By doing those things in a capitalist society, you're interfering with those persons' (let's call them blood-sucking leeches) "right" to make a living off of other people's misery.

Same sex marriage is not a candidate for any office. The Catholic Church or any other tax-exempt organization is perfectly free to voice its opinion on the issue, yea or nay. Organizations cross the line when they say "Vote for Moochie Marblehead because Moochie's against gay marriage!" But simply being against gay marriage is permissible participation in the political system, and it has been for a long time.

Now, if you want to make issue advocacy illegal, you might as well outlaw all non-profit or charitable organizations, because everything is political, and someone's ox is being gored no matter what the issue. If something wasn't an issue, then there would be no need for advocacy. But for some reason, people in our society have to advocate for such things as clean air, drinkable water and wholesome, non-poisonous food. Because someone's making a buck off of making the air unbreatheable, fouling the water, and purveying toxic foodstuffs.