On October 10, CNN and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation held an LGBTQ town hall with nine 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in attendance. During the debate, Beto O’Rourke answered yes when asked if religious institutions should lose their tax exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage, according to NewNowNext. In later statements, Warren and Buttigieg disagreed with O’Rourke’s stance.
At the debate, O’Rourke said, “There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone, or any institution, any organization in America, that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us.” He continued, “And so, as president, we are going to make that a priority, and we are going to stop those who are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans.”
In person, O’Rourke was firm about protecting queer people against discrimination and not supporting the right to discriminate as a part of religious freedom. However, after his comments stirred controversy, his spokeswoman Aleigha Cavalier clarified his comments in a way that made it seem like O’Rourke was backtracking.
According to NBC News, Cavalier stated that O’Rourke’s tax exempt statement had been misconstrued for political gain and said, “Of course, Beto was referring to religious institutions who take discriminatory action. The extreme right is distorting this for their own agenda.”
Cavalier then clarified O’Rourke’s definition of discriminatory as “denying public accommodation” on the basis of gender, sexuality, or marriage.
The clarifications seem to be a response to harsh criticisms from the right and disagreements from fellow candidates. NBC reported that Nebraskan senator Ben Sasse and Kelly Shackelford, president of First Liberty Institute were among O’Rourke’s critics. In a statement, Shackelford said, “Beto O’Rourke’s threat is a direct affront to the constitutional guarantee of religious liberty.”
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation also declined to comment on O’Rourke’s statement.
Candidates like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete Buttigieg also disagreed with O’Rourke. In an appearance on CNN, the gay candidate said that he supported anti-discrimination policies, but he wouldn’t pull tax exempt status from churches because of their beliefs on same-sex marriage.
He continued, “Going after the tax exemption of churches, Islamic centers, or other religious facilities in this country is just going to deepen the divisions we’re already experiencing.”
Perhaps also accounting for the backlash O’Rourke received, Warren’s spokesperson Saloni Sharma also released a statement about the tax exempt issue. According to NewNowNext, Sharma stated that Warren supports the LGBTQ community. Sharma then stated that, “Religious institutions in America have long been free to determine their own beliefs and practices, and [Warren] does not think we should require them to conduct same-sex marriages in order to maintain their tax exempt status.”
Religious institutions’ acceptance of queerness continues to be a contentious political and legal issue, as they have been since Supreme Court cases like the Masterpiece Cakeshop and even the legalization of same-gender marriage itself. LGBTQ rights should be a prominent issue this election, and we continue to search for a candidate who will fight for our right to live free from discrimination and violence.
