government collecting fees for Focus on the Family

OKgrannie · 03-22-2008, 10:35 PM

Floridians should contact their representatives:

Talk To Action | Reclaiming Citizenship, History, and FaithFlorida Bills for funding Focus on the Family
By ArchaeoBobTue Mar 18, 2008 at 11:35:56 PM EST

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There are two bills before the Florida Legislature that need to be stopped.
Florida House bill 707 and Florida Senate bill 630 both provide for Florida's Department of Transportation to solicit $1 contributions from people renewing their registrations for "Family First"- a "Non-Profit organization" based in Florida.
Thanks to my good friend dogemperor, we've been able to connect the dots- Florida First is a d.b.a. for the Florida chapter of Focus on the Family (Florida Family Council).
The state has NO business collecting funds for a religious organization- especially one along the lines of Focus on the Family. This is an outrageous violation of the separation of church and state!!!
The content of the two bills can be found on the Florida House/Senate web pages (follow the bills link). The links to each are below.
House: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Bills/bills.aspx
Senate: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/index.cfm?Mode=Bills&SubMenu= 1&Tab=Session&Start=600&End=698&Year=2008&Cha mber=SenateThe Florida Family Council Inc. form 990 can be found at: http://www.eri-nonprofit-salaries.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=NPO.Fo rm990&EIN=593043408&Year=2006&Cobrandid=0Note the web address.

indago · 03-23-2008, 06:44 AM

OKgrannie wrote:

Quote:

The state has NO business collecting funds for a religious organization

You will find that religious cultists everywhere get into the legislature, either through the ballot box, or lobbying, and try to foist their agenda upon the unsuspecting.

forester814 · 03-23-2008, 08:43 AM

Thanks for bringing this to the forum's attention, okgrannie!
I agree, this is completely inappropriate.

Not being a resident of Florida (yet), I'm not sure what impact my voice will have, but you can bet that my future legislators will be hearing from me.

I am sending a note to Governor Charlie Crist, State Senator Arthenia Joyner, and State Representative Betty Reed.

garysher · 03-23-2008, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OKgrannie

There are two bills before the Florida Legislature that need to be stopped.
Florida House bill 707 and Florida Senate bill 630 both provide for Florida's Department of Transportation to solicit $1 contributions from people renewing their registrations for "Family First"- a "Non-Profit organization" based in Florida.

The state has NO business collecting funds for a religious organization- especially one along the lines of Focus on the Family. This is an outrageous violation of the separation of church and state!!!

Calm down no need to get your knickers in a twist!

The $1 contribution is entirely voluntary, there is no pressure on anybody to contribute to this wonderful cause if they don't want to.

Other causes collect money through a similar process, including nebulous pursuits like Save The Whale!

Are you seriously suggesting that preserving families is less important than saving whales???

OKgrannie · 03-24-2008, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysher

Calm down no need to get your knickers in a twist!

The $1 contribution is entirely voluntary, there is no pressure on anybody to contribute to this wonderful cause if they don't want to.

Other causes collect money through a similar process, including nebulous pursuits like Save The Whale!

Are you seriously suggesting that preserving families is less important than saving whales???

I doubt that anyone in society is opposed to saving whales. Whether it is appropriate for government to collect donations for the purpose of saving them is another question.

I doubt that anyone is society is opposed to preserving families, but whether Focus on the Family is primarily dedicated to to preserving families is another question. They are a RELIGIOUS-based organization, their PRIMARY goal is to promote RELIGIOUS principles in a secular government, in other words, to destroy the government with religious freedom that we currently enjoy, and promote a religious government or theocracy. It is not appropriate for a secular government to assist a religious organization in collecting funds in any way, and compounding the problem is the fact that they have obscured the true destination of the collected monies.

garysher · 03-24-2008, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OKgrannie

I doubt that anyone in society is opposed to saving whales. Whether it is appropriate for government to collect donations for the purpose of saving them is another question.

I doubt that anyone is society is opposed to preserving families, but whether Focus on the Family is primarily dedicated to to preserving families is another question. They are a RELIGIOUS-based organization, their PRIMARY goal is to promote RELIGIOUS principles in a secular government, in other words, to destroy the government with religious freedom that we currently enjoy, and promote a religious government or theocracy. It is not appropriate for a secular government to assist a religious organization in collecting funds in any way, and compounding the problem is the fact that they have obscured the true destination of the collected monies.

Again, nobody is forced to donate anything. If you don't support Focus on the Family and their pro-family, pro-American values then don't donate.

It's as simple as that.

Why is it not appropriate for a govt department to present American citizens with the option of supporting such a worthy cause as preserving and protecting family values?

Aren't families more important than whales??!?

I thought America was proud of being a free country??!??

Katczinsky · 03-24-2008, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysher

Again, nobody is forced to donate anything. If you don't support Focus on the Family and their pro-family, pro-American values then don't donate.

It's as simple as that.

Why is it not appropriate for a govt department to present American citizens with the option of supporting such a worthy cause as preserving and protecting family values?

Aren't families more important than whales??!?

I thought America was proud of being a free country??!??

I detect sarcasm. Unless of course you're being serious, in which case you're an idiot.

Grace · 03-25-2008, 07:14 AM

But you have no problem in forcing people to pay taxes that end up in the hands of child murderers? With no say at all from the American public.

waitingtables · 03-25-2008, 08:39 AM

Grace, what don't you understand about the separation of Church and State? It is bad enough that George W. included faith based charities in his government funding of charities. It is not okay, not at all.

And Gary, it is your opinion that Focus on the Family is about protecting and preserving families. You know very well that it is anti-American to force religion down someone's throat who might not want it. Please don't talk to me about Focus on the Family being gung ho America. It isn't, or it would embrace the defining document of our nation, the Constituion, which it does not support. FotF is about theocracy, not a democratic republic.

garysher · 03-25-2008, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waitingtables

Grace, what don't you understand about the separation of Church and State? It is bad enough that George W. included faith based charities in his government funding of charities. It is not okay, not at all.

But even your sister-in-arms crazyflamingos admits to giving money to Christian charities because she approves of the work they do.

Surely it's more important to help the needy rather than be prevented from doing so on some vague ideological grounds?

And Gary, it is your opinion that Focus on the Family is about protecting and preserving families. You know very well that it is anti-American to force religion down someone's throat who might not want it. Please don't talk to me about Focus on the Family being gung ho America. It isn't, or it would embrace the defining document of our nation, the Constituion, which it does not support. FotF is about theocracy, not a democratic republic.

I think you're getting a bit confused on that.

Why do you think FoF supports a "theocracy"??

Do you understand the meaning of that word? And do you ascribe it to anyone who bases their political beliefs on their religious faith??

Do you believe that Christians and people of other faiths should have their political will subordinated to atheists for example?