Groups to sue against religions playing politics as allowed by Trump

The Hill - Groups are gearing up to file legal challenges against President Trump's executive order that makes it easier for religious groups to participate in politics without risking their tax-exempt status.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation said it has a 17-page complaint ready to be filed in the federal District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The group’s attorney, Andrew Seidel, said he’s just waiting to see the exact language of the order.

“The government is not allowed to favor one particular religion over another or favor religion over non-religion,” Seidel said. “That’s a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the Establishment Clause.”

Seidel said the repercussions of the order will be “infinitely worse” than Citizens United v. FEC, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in which struck down limits on third-party spending on campaigns and candidates.

Huffington Post - As news of the impending “religious liberty” order broke  more than 1,000 faith leaders released a letter urging the president to abandon it.

“Although it purports to strengthen religious freedom, what this order would actually do is misuse this freedom, turning it into a weapon to discriminate against broad swaths of our nation, including LGBTQ people, women, and children in foster care,” the leaders wrote.

“We urge you to turn away from all proposals that would abuse religious freedom, including any executive orders on this issue that are currently under consideration.”