Dear FSC Member,

A bill in the U.S. Congress could do severe damage to the Adult Entertainment Industry. The bill would allow the conservative religious right to use their churches to make direct political contributions to conservative candidates. We need your help to stop this bill from becoming law.

The Problem: Houses of Worship "Protection" Act Turns Collection Plate Into Partisan Campaign Fund

The Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act (H.R. 2357) would change federal tax law to allow houses of worship to endorse political candidates and to contribute to political campaigns. This legislation would undermine the integrity of both our elections and our houses of worship. H.R. 2357 would entangle religion with partisan politics, dividing congregations whose members hold divergent views and tainting houses of worship with the scandals and actions of the candidates they support. At the same time, the bill would blow gaping holes in our campaign finance laws. Under H.R. 2357, wealthy donors could anonymously channel their campaign contributions through houses of worship, which do not have to report the names of large contributors. These individuals could even take a tax deduction for their donations.

The Solution: Tell Your Elected Representative that you Strongly Oppose H.R. 2357. Help stop this cynical partisan ploy by urging your representative to vote Against the Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act!

Below is a sample message you can e-mail your representative, Today!

To My U.S. Congressional Representative:

I urge you to oppose the "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act" (H.R. 2357) when the House of Representatives votes on the legislation this week. H.R. 2357 would allow houses of worship to spend tax-deductible donations on partisan political activity and to endorse candidates. H.R. 2357 is an unnecessary bill that would only serve to entangle religion with partisan politics and create new tax loopholes in our campaign finance laws.

Houses of worship already have an absolute right to take positions on any public policy issue and can even, within limits, support or oppose specific legislation. Religious leaders in this nation have a long and proud history of providing moral leadership on our most difficult dilemmas.

The restrictions targeted by H.R. 2357 are essential to protecting the integrity of both our elections and our houses of worship. Under this proposal, wealthy donors could anonymously channel their campaign contributions through houses of worship, which do not have to report the names of large contributors. These individuals could even take a tax deduction for their donations.

Please reject this cynical attempt to turn houses of worship into partisan political pawns. Vote No on H.R. 2357 when it comes to the House floor tomorrow!

Sincerely,
(your name)
(your full address & zip code)

FSC members and their customers can register their displeasure with this Houses of Worship "Protection" Act by e-mailing their Representatives and Senators.

Go to FreeSpeechCoalition.com. On the home page click on any flame and when the news item comes up you will find a link to House and Senate e-mails by state. Select your state , click on the appropriate e-mail address and paste-in the message above.

Be Sure To Give Your Name and Address Showing you Vote Within the Representative's District.

You can also call or fax your Member's office. Phone numbers are available in the same list as the e-mail addresses. Better yet, phone and e-mail. Use your power as a voter to protect our industry. For talking points, see underlined areas above.

Best regards,
Bill Lyon
Executive Director
Free Speech Coalition

We must also give credit to People for the American Way for alerting us to this sneak attack.