IRS Targeted Marriage

On June 25 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) admitted it wrongly targeted the National Organization for Marriage and its stand for marriage when it leaked their donor list to a homosexual activist group in Boston who oppose the marriage message and are working to expand (or possibly annihilate marriage - as this blog discussed recently).  Here's the article by Bethany Monk posted by Citizen Link at http://www.citizenlink.com/2014/06/25/irs-admits-wrongdoing-settles-with-marriage-group/:

 

IRS Admits Wrongdoing, Settles Suit with National Marriage Group

by Bethany Monk

The IRS admitted Tuesday that is was wrong to leak the confidential information of a conservative marriage organization. The tax agency has agreed to pay $50,000 to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to settle the lawsuit.

"It has been a long and arduous process to hold the IRS accountable for their illegal release of our (2008) confidential tax return and donor list," said NOM Chairman John Eastman. The list was ultimately given to the organization's "chief political rival," he said.

The marriage group filed suit last year. According to NOM, an investigation revealed that the information was given to Matthew Meisel, a gay activist in Boston. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) then published the information and released it to the media.

This is incident with NOM is not the only time the IRS has mistreated conservative groups. Last spring, the agency admitted it was wrong to target nonprofit organizations with the words "Tea Party" or "patriot" during the 2012 election season.

 

 

For any branch of the any government to target any organization that holds marriage to be the sacred union of one man and one woman for a lifetime is not only bad governmental practice, but intimidating to free speech and free exercise, and disregards the rule of law.  Furthermore, it works to advance marriage expansion and fosters dilution of the family, rather than family restoration. 

 

Good government public policy should include the encouragement of activities that protect marriage for family strength.  Find out more about this type of policy making at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2427462, toward family restoration and family strength.