Last week, in a speech to the National Religious Broadcasters convention, Senator Ted Cruz said that the Obergefell ruling will drive Christian broadcasters off the airwaves.
Not-so subtly twisting remarks made during Obergefell’s arguments by Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Cruz claimed “the answer from the Obama Justice Department in the open court of the Supreme Court of the United States was yes, that is a very real possibility that the IRS will come after you, that if your hosts go on air and say, ‘the Bible teaches that marriage is not defined by man, it is defined by God as the union of one man and one woman to mirror the relationship of Jesus Christ and the church,’ that you risk the federal government yanking your FCC license. That’s the threat we’re facing. They’re not hiding from this threat. They’re saying in open court, ‘We will use the power of government to go after and target those who speak against us.’”
Cruz’s claim is without merit. Legal analysts say it’s extremely unlikely that marriage equality will cause the end of tax exemptions for religious institutions. Also, Verrilli never said the government will go after religious broadcasters. Cruz made that up for dramatic effect.
In the past, Cruz falsely claimed that the legalization of gay marriage will lead to criminal penalties for any pastor who refused to perform same-sex marriages.
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h/t: Right Wing Watch
