Monday, November 13, 2017

...But My Rights...!

     Imagine the howl and outcry if you had to show ID, fill out a Form 4473 and wait for the FBI background check to be completed before you could join a church (or start one), buy a book, write for a newspaper, or vote.

3 comments:

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

If you want your new church to be tax-exempt, the initial filing is fairly onerous, and then there is the annual Form 990 to be filed. But I doubt anyone is starting a new church every time a revival comes to town. It's not quite the same as buying a new gun every time the Indy 1500 opens up. :)

dittybopper said...

Or get an abortion.

Roberta X said...

Indeed, though the latter is not specifically mentioned in the Bill of Rights -- and the questionnaire you get put through ahead of medical procedures not intended as a barrier. But it remains a contentious matter and one that find little agreement among the fifty states. Both sides of the issue want the heavy thumb of government on their side of the scales.

Fuzzy: a valid point. "The power to tax is the power to destroy" -- even when taxes are explicitly not going to be collected, if the forms are properly filled out and all the ducks are lined up in the manner Uncle Sam requires.