(JustPatriots.com)- Last Tuesday, Pastor Steve Smothermon of the Legacy Church in Albuquerque told his congregation to turn out and vote for his chosen candidate in the upcoming city council run-off election.
At the service, he reminded attendees that early voting has begun and that they should turn out and vote before December 4 “because we need people like her on the city council.”
The comment, however, has been drawn into question by experts. John Day, a legal expert, said that what the pastor did was questionable.
“Well, the thing about churches and politics are that most churches are nonprofits under the IRS code 501(c)(3), and that means any nonprofit to keep their nonprofit status, they must stay out of endorsing people. They have to stay out of partisan politics,” he explained.
IRS documents state that any written or verbal statements that favor or oppose a specific candidate can stop a church from qualifying for its tax-exempt status.
Day told KOAT 7 Action News that if the IRS looks into the matter they will likely discover that they have crossed the line.
But here’s the thing…
While this is absolutely true, it makes you wonder why Vice President Kamala Harris recently interjected herself into the Virginia gubernatorial campaign, saying in a video message played in around 300 black churches in the state to turn out and vote for the Democratic candidate.
The candidate who lost, by the way.
If you don’t remember it, here it is:
NEW — More than 300 Black churches across VA will hear from @KamalaHarris btwn Sun. and November 2 in video message that will air during morning services as part of outreach effort aimed to boost @TerryMcAuliffe.#VAGOV
Video first obtained by CNNhttps://t.co/vaefXtWqUe pic.twitter.com/l8re0KUkN1
— Eva McKend (@evamckend) October 16, 2021
Ask yourself…why is it that pastors in small-town churches are being targeted by the media and legal experts like this, but the Vice President of the United States seems to just get a pass?
How is that fair?
