Washington D.C., Oct 11, 2019 / 12:00 pm
A Democratic candidate for president has said religious institutions should be stripped of their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage.
On Thursday night, during and Equality Townhall hosted and broadcast on CNN, Robert Francis O'Rourke, a former congressman, was asked by CNN anchor Don Lemon if he thought that "religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities, should they lose their tax exempt status if they oppose same sex marriage?"
O'Rourke answered "yes," and after applause and cheers from the crowd, added, "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. And so, as president, we're going to make that a priority, and we are going to stop those who are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans."
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), another presidential candidate, was asked earlier in the night if he would strip the tax-exempt status of churches who were opposed to same-sex marriage. Booker said that such a move would entail a "long legal battle," but signaled his sympathy with the idea.