Tax the Church and not the Gays

As US Citizens, we should all have equal rights, the right to marry the person we love and want to spend our lives with should be one of them. If a group of US Citizens want to take away a fundamental right from those who are part of the LGBT community, then why should the LGBT community be required to pay taxes in a nation where we don't have the same rights as everyone else? The argument that its about religion and what is 'traditional' does not hold true, as a US Citizen, we have the right to freedom of religion, by denying the LGBT community the right to marry the person of their choice, that is violating our freedom of religion and forcing the religion of others upon us. Prop 8 passing is just another sign of how much prejudice still exists in our great nation. Thank you to those who voted NO on 8 [in California].

And I am here to say... No, I am here to DEMAND that the US Government revoke tax exemption to all Churches because of their political involvements. There is something fundamentally wrong when Churches are tax exempt, yet American citizens are denied equal rights under the Constitution.

Equal Rights for Homosexual Americans

I recently came across this group on Facebook and I found the 3 points the group creator made were so to the point in this whole argument. I am posting them below. Please ignore the parts about disqualifying and deleting as they don't apply here since this isn't a group forum, although this is a public debate as much as I hate to think of my equal rights being up for public debate.

1.) Religion IS NOT allowed in this debate. PERIOD. Religion, by nature of what it is, has absolutely no place in this debate. Christians say that the bible speaks against homosexuality, and therefore it should not be legal for gays to get married. However, another religion could say that homosexuality is completely ok and promotes gay marriage. Since we enjoy a freedom of religion in this country, one religion cannot trump another. It’s like -1 + 1= 0. So, if you even elude to “Gay marriage is wrong because the bible says so” then don’t even bother joining because your argument will be immediately disqualified and deleted.

2.) Marriage, as far as the govn’t is concerned, is a legal institution and determines things such as property and inheritance rights. Anything else is religious in nature, so see point #1. Being as such, there is no reason legally, why gay people should not be allowed to get married.

3.) Homosexuality CANNOT and WILL NOT be equated with pedophiles or incest. Pedophilia is the forcing, through physical or emotional means, of a child/minor to participate in sexual acts with someone much older than the child. Homosexuality is two people who are old enough and mature enough to understand the consequences of being physically intimate with each other. If it isn’t mutually consensual, then it is rape, and that is wrong regardless of the sexual orientation of those involved. Incest is not accepted because history has shown that children produced from an incestual relationship have a much higher chance of birth defects (look at almost any royal family for a good example of that). Children produced from a homosexual relationship (through artificial insemination or serrogate mothers) are not genetically related. However, do not misconstrue that to say that children and procreation are a primary argument for either case. Because if you say that gay people can't get married because they can't have children naturally, then the same rule has to logically apply to straight infertile couples as well.

And lastly I'll reiterate one of the most important facts; Separation of Church and State! The Church pays no taxes and therefore should not have any say or influence in public policy or legislature.