In addition to forcibly stripping law-abiding Americans of their constitutional right to bear arms and confiscating their property, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke now says he wants to financially punish churches and charities that don’t perform gay marriage ceremonies or adhere to progressive views on LGBT issues.
During a CNN town hall Thursday evening, CNN host Don Lemon pointedly asked O’Rourke whether, if elected, he would strip churches who “oppose same sex marriage.”
"Do you think religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities, should they lose their tax exempt status if they oppose same sex marriage?" Lemon asked.
"Yes," Beto responded.
“There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America, that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us," he went on.
Beto then added he would “stop” anyone who didn’t conform to the left’s views on LGBT “rights.”
“So as president, we’re going to make that a priority, and stop those that are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans,” he said.
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 11, 2019
Beto O’Rourke on religious institutions losing tax-exempt status for opposing same-sex marriage: “There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone ... that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us” #EqualityTownHall pic.twitter.com/0ruxeIao8o
O’Rourke -- who currently falls somewhere between 1 and 3 percent among Democratic presidential candidates, depending on the poll -- didn’t elaborate on what his definition of “infringing” might include.
Tax-exempt status is reserved for groups and organizations who’ve successfully applied for nonprofit status regardless of their political stance, ranging from conservative churches with strict Biblical adherence all the way to far-left liberal groups that promote radical left-wing agendas – including Planned Parenthood, which performs a full one-third of abortions done in the U.S. per year, and for which O’Rourke has expressed strong support.