The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., says he's a man of God, not a lobbyist. But state officials say he's both.
According to the Connecticut Office of State Ethics, the diocese acted as a lobbying organization in March when it rented buses to transport people to a rally in Hartford — the state capital — to protest a bill that would have granted more power to parishioners regarding church finances.
Officials also are investigating whether the church acted as a lobbying organization on its Web site when it urged parishioners to contact lawmakers about the bill, which eventually was withdrawn amid public outcry, and about a another bill to legalize same-sex marriage, which was signed into law in April.
You heard that right. According to the dimwitted Demcorats in Connecticut, if you organize a protest (something explicitly protected by the Constitution) you can be charged with a crime if you spend more than $2000 to do it. Funny thing is, the Constitution doesn't mention anything about a $2000 limit. Let's look at that pesky First Amendment, shall we?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Nope, nothing about $2000 there. In fact, it explicitly prohibits legislatures making any law abridging free speech, peaceable assembly or petitioning the government. Democrats in Connecticut, being morons presumably, believe this allows them to criminalize all of the said activity because more than $2000 was spent in doing it.
If this is what "just what Ethics Panels do" well then all "Ethics Panels" are unconstitutional.
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