Mormon Church Illegally Funded Propaganda for CA Prop. 8 Vote

The illegal political influence of the Mormon Church in the Prop. 8 vote in California is coming to light more and more as of late. The LDS church has propagandized the public in order to persecute a minority group, denying them equal treatment under the law. For a tax-exempt organization like this to so blatantly interfere with a state proposition ballot is grounds for them to lose their status. They are acting as a tax-free lobbying organization that should not get the fiscal endorsement of the government in the form of tax breaks. They are a private organization, and I'm happy for them to speech freely on any issue that they deem prescient. I don't think government subsidy is necessary to organizations that so blatantly act outside their legal framework for 501(c)3 organizations.

Cover Up: Mormon Church Reveals $190k in Previously Unreported Prop 8 Expenditures
Jon Ponder Jan. 31, 2009
In a classic Friday night news dump, the Mormon Church released a report late yesterday that reveals at least $190,000 in previously unreported expenditures in the Proposition 8 campaign to repeal gays’ right to marry in California. Failure to disclose campaign expenses is illegal, and these expenditures were not reported in an earlier filing.
The report included a $96,849 charge for “compensated staff time” for church employees who worked on Prop 8.
The report was released in response to a complaint filed in November by Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate. In the sworn complaint, Karger contended that “the Mormon Church organized phone banks from Utah and Idaho, sent direct mail to voters, transported people to California over several weekends, used the LDS NewsRoom to send out news releases to promote their activities, walked precincts, ran a speakers bureau, distributed thousands of lawn signs and other campaign material, organized a ’surge to election day,’ had church leaders travel to California, set up very elaborate web sites, produced at least nine commercials and four other video broadcasts and conducted at least two satellite simulcasts over five Western states.”
Karger’s complaint underscored that these activities were targeted, not at church members, but at the general public, which classifies the communications as political propaganda. Churches risk losing their nonprofit status if they engage in partisan politicking.

Great article from the Pensito Review