Gay activists are encouraging people to report churches to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for supporting the effort to restore one man, one woman marriage in the recent election. According to the Maine Marriage Equality Web site, churches should be singled out for IRS investigation and possible revocation of the tax-exempt status.
The site provides information on how to file a complaint with the IRS, complaint forms, and address and fax information for the government entity.
Ken Graves, senior pastor at Calvary Chapel in Bangor, said they welcome the challenge.
"We know what the law is, what we're allowed to do," he said. "We've acted within the context of the law. We've directly consulted the ethics commission here in the state of Maine with regard to our political involvement."
Graves said they must stand up for biblical values.
"We just refuse to be held hostage, and held silent with the threat of the removal of our tax-exempt status," he said. "It's not the most important thing."
Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), said his group is offering free legal assistance to any church that becomes a target of the IRS.
"Churches and pastors have a right to support or oppose legislative efforts directly," he said, "as long it constitutes an insubstantial part of what they do overall."
He said the threat by homosexual activists is baseless.
"The IRS has established very clear guidelines and procedures on this issue," he said. "Supporting traditional marriage through a ballot initiative never even comes close to the threshold under the IRS rules."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn more about the threat to Maine churches.
