A California-based group is challenging
the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine's participation in an anti-gay
marriage referendum, the AP reported.
The Empowering Spirits Foundation says
it has filed an Internal Revenue Service complaint against the
church. The group says the diocese is violating IRS nonprofit rules
by collecting signatures for a political referendum.
Diocese officials vociferously lobbied
lawmakers against passage of the gay marriage bill that Governor John
Baldacci signed into law on May 6, making Maine the second state
after Vermont to approve gay marriage legislatively, instead of by
court order.
Under Maine law, voters can challenge a
bill with a people's veto. To place a measure on the ballot this
November requires opponents turn in 55,087 valid signatures by
September 3 or 4 – at least 60 days before Election Day, but they
may not begin collecting signatures until after the Legislature has
adjourned.
Diocese officials, who committed early
on to repeal of the gay marriage law, say IRS rules allow them to
participate in the campaign and have brushed off the IRS challenge
filed in a Dallas office, calling it a “bogus attempt to sidetrack
the campaign.”