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:

  1. 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. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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.

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment will not be visible until approved. Arguing or use of insulting or derogatory language will result in your comment going unpublished: no name-calling. Comments I deem excessively partisan will not be published.