Over 70 leaders of Christian schools have written a letter addressed to Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, and John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives, expressing their concern about the tax-exempt status of educational institutions if the Supreme Court finds that same-sex marriages are constitutionally protected.
The letter refers to a portion of the Obergefell v. Hodges oral arguments -- specifically, comments from Justice Samuel Alito and U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli. Alito says that in a previous case, the Supreme Court ruled "that a college was not entitled to tax-exempt status if it opposed interracial marriage or interracial dating. So would the same apply to a university or a college if it opposed same-sex marriage?"
To the question, Verrilli says, "I don't think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it's certainly going to be an issue. I don't deny that."
"The implications of such a stance are far-reaching and would affect religious schools from grades K-12, colleges and universities, theological seminaries and graduate schools, and any other religious- or non-religious-based educational institution in the United States that holds to natural marriage," the letter states. According to the Christian Post, over 30,000 Christian schools would have to face extreme financial difficulties if they are stripped of tax-exempt status for failing to accommodate same-sex couples.
"The tax exempt status [the schools] enjoy helps substantially in enabling them to offer quality education to millions of young Americans," the letter continues. "Its loss would be premised on a historic abandonment of the principles of religious liberty that are foundational to our republic and also would have a profoundly adverse financial effect on religious-based primary, secondary, collegiate, and post-graduate institutions."
"If the government could revoke the tax exempt status of such schools, what is to prevent other forms of government discrimination such as revoking grants or contracts or funding for services unrelated to marriage?" the letter states.
The signatories ask the leaders of Congress to support the Government Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit the government from taking action against educational institutions that adhere to the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. The bill has not yet been formally introduced, but Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), plans to introduce it to Congress in the near future.
Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council; and Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission are among those who signed the letter.
The letter comes as the nation is expecting to hear from the Supreme Court regarding their decision from the Obergefell v. Hodges case, in which the question on whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry was discussed. The decision is set to be made some time this month.