RE: PETITION TO RESTORE PULPIT FREEDOM and First Amendment rights of churches by repealing the 1954 Johnson Amendment.

Dear [TITLE] [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME]:

We the undersigned respectfully petition you to please support efforts to restore the Free Speech and First Amendment rights of churches and non-profit exempt organizations by repealing the 1954 Johnson Amendment.

Please support the above bill for the following reasons.

1. The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech." Yet Congress violated this law in 1954 by silencing churches.
2. Censorship is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Only dictators would use the tax code to silence churches.
3. The IRS now admits the old 1954 law is outdated and unenforceable, by their failure to sue any pastors or churches that openly endorse candidates, because they know the IRS would lose in court, and violate the First Amendment.
4. The Government must stay out of churches, period. IRS pressure to censor religious speech stops the free exchange of ideas that made America the greatest nation on earth.
5. Freedom of religious speech is an enduring principle upon which our forefathers established our nation, for which freedom many Americans have sacrificed, fought and died. HONOR THEIR LEGACY by rescinding the 1954 Johnson Amendment!

The recent corruption scandals in the IRS prove they cannot be trusted, especially if they threaten religious freedom.

Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY], [STATE] [ZIP]