In the appeal of IRS Director Martin’s May decision, Christians Engaged Counsel Lea Patterson of the First Liberty Institute, a Plano, Texas-based public interest law firm that specializes in religious freedom litigation, argued three points against the initial finding by the IRS executive.
“By finding that Christians Engaged does not meet the operational test, Director Martin errs in three ways:
1) he invents a nonexistent requirement that exempt organizations be neutral on public policy issues;
2) he incorrectly concludes that Christians Engaged primarily serves private, nonexempt purposes rather than public, exempt purposes because he thinks its beliefs overlap with the Republican Party’s policy positions; and
3) he violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech, and Free Exercise, and Establishment clauses by engaging in both viewpoint discrimination and religious discrimination,”
In a just world, Director Martin would be fired for failure to comprehend the law he is supposed to follow, sued for recovery of attorney’s fees on the part of the religious institution he burdened, and criminally charged for oppression of liberties under color of authority.