-California: Bill Will Take Away Non-Profit Tax Status From Boy Scouts and Church Sponsored Youth Groups
by Dr. D ~ August 28th, 2013
The vote on SB 323 in the California state Assembly is down to the wire and will be very close. I received a note yesterday from the Pacific Justice Institute asking all who oppose this bill to contact their representatives in the Assembly.
As a reminder, here is a link to my post on this bill when it was first introduced in February: -California Bill to Force Scouts and Other Non-Profits to Accept Homosexuality
Nobody knows for sure how many different groups this bill might end up affecting in California. It is directed at the Boy Scouts and any other youth groups which may discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual preference, and religion. It is designed to force all non-profit youth groups to accept the homosexual/LGBT lifestyle or lose their tax exempt status.
Though the Boy Scouts now allow homosexual membership they are still targeted by this bill since they continue to block gays from leadership roles and still feature a belief in God as part of their programing.
There are even some suggestions that it could affect little leagues and sports groups in the state including high School football booster organizations since those sports generally ‘discriminate’ on the basis of gender and ability. *Top
August 28th, 2013 at 7:47 am
The bill is so broad, Dr. D, that it would theoretically impact on (a) church-run private schools; and (b) Sunday Schools. Thus, if you have an evangelical church which is running a Sunday School program for children (and they all do), unless your church shows some evidence of compliance with the mandates of the law (i.e. an affirmatively action plan for LGBT, or perhaps “we don’t teach doctrines that do not affirm homosexuality”) it is theoretically going to lose its tax exempt status.
Brian
August 28th, 2013 at 10:48 pm
Brian, That confirms what I have heard. There is a real concern over how this law will be used and the possible wide application against Christians organizations which minister to youth.
September 20th, 2013 at 7:07 am
[…] We recently posted about the problems that this potential law would present for youth groups which according to the bill generally ‘discriminate’ on the basis of gender, ability, and or faith. […]