In 1954, the Johnson Amendment was passed in an effort to bar churches from speaking out against the government and from publicly supporting political policies. It’s a nonprofit filing that ensures the church does not have to pay property tax, yet this amendment single-handedly removes any voice from the church.
In an age when the NFL has stolen Sundays from most Americans and has recently imposed a fine on players who attend mass with greater than 25% capacity, why have we allowed their voice to be greater than that of the church? Is this true separation of church and state or government control based on tax status?
Why is this important? Our values and way of life are being mocked and stripped away by our own local officials. We have been under Democratic control for over 90 years and continue to elect people who have never truly had New Mexicans at heart.
New Mexico is a Democratic stronghold for the late-term abortion industry. There are thousands and thousands of abortion dollars flowing into the campaigns of Reps. Ben Ray Lujan, Xochitl Torres Small, and congressional candidate Teresa Leger Fernandez. Why? Colorado will vote in November on Initiative 120 to ban late-term abortion. While this is great news this would ensure these providers make New Mexico their new home, driving excess abortion traffic into the state. The current makeup of our local government and Democratic stronghold would ensure this massacre would continue in NM.
The University of New Mexico is currently training the next generation of abortion providers and allowed a sign to hang reading, “HEROES WORK HERE” outside of their late-term abortion facility for weeks. After the tireless efforts by Bud and Tara Shaver of “AbortionFreeNM,” Father Stephen Imbarrato, and many others, the sign was ultimately taken down.
New Mexico is currently unrecognizable with minimal church attendance, red flag gun laws, late-term abortion, and transgender storytimes for pre-K and kindergarteners, supported by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, the New Mexico Public Education Department, the City of Albuquerque, and New Mexico Highlands University.
If this “pandemic” and last legislative session have taught us anything, it’s that our local officials are far more extreme than the average New Mexican could have ever imagined. We as a people cannot sit back and allow these government sellouts to belittle our church, our values, and our way of life. It is not time to live in fear of a virus that has a 99.97% survival rate waiting for a vaccine that is developed off the cells of aborted fetal tissues. Support the land and values that our grandfathers fought for because at this rate, what will we pass on to our own grandchildren?
Alyssa M. Gonzales is a traditional New Mexican fighting to end abortion in New Mexico. You can follow her on Twitter @Alyssajustdoit.
Opinions offered by Piñon Post contributors do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the publication or its editorial staff. Submit an op-ed to the Piñon Post at news@pinonpost.com.
The actual history of the Johnson amendment is actually quite interesting. It supposedly involves all non-profit organizations.
Is that church in the picture still around? Anyone know where it is? Wonderful picture!