The Freethinkers of Colorado Springs statement to KOAA News Five in response to President Trump's May 4, 2017 executive order "Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty" follows.

The "Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty" Executive Order does not appear to make any substantial change to IRS 501c3.

The most salient sentence from the "Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty" Executive Order is:

Section 2. Sentence 2.

In particular, the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that the Department of the Treasury does not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury.

Consider the existing 501c3 regulations.

A. Section 501c3 of the IRS code grants covered organizations and their donors exemptions from federal income tax.

B. The vast majority of tax-exempt organizations are churches, which are granted automatic tax-exempt status under 501c3 without having to complete the complex application process or paying the non-refundable filing fee paid by other IRS 501c3 applicants such as academic institutions and small non-religious non-profits.

C. Current law allows tax-exempt organizations under IRS 501c3 to specifically support or oppose issues, and elected representatives.

D. Current law prohibits tax-exempt organizations under IRS 501c3 from specifically endorsing or opposing candidates for elected office.

E. Current law prohibits tax-exempt organizations under IRS 501c3 from lobbying (urging members to contact their representatives in support of adopting or rejecting specific regulations).

F. Current law prohibits tax-exempt organizations under IRS 501c3 from devoting a "substantial part" of their expenditures and activities to political lobbying,

G. Current law prohibits tax-exempt organizations under IRS 501c3 from participating directly in political campaigns.

Specifically, in order to substantially change 501c3 regulations, the "Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty" order executive order would have to state:

1. that tax-exempt churches or religious leaders may directly endorse or oppose candidates for public office,

2. that tax-exempt churches or religious leaders may directly tell members to contact their representatives to urge the adoption or rejection of legislation,

3. that tax-exempt churches or religious leaders may directly may expend a "substantial part" of their overall activities on political lobbying (expenditures and other attempts to influence legislation), or that

4. tax-exempt churches or religious leaders may actively and directly participate in political campaigns

Therefore, section 2, sentence 2 of the "Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty" Executive Order does not appear to make any substantial change to the IRS 501c3 code.

In contrast, the key sentence of the "Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty" Executive Order appears at least confusing in the context of IRS 501c3 law, and may actually state that the order makes no change in the way that participation or intervention in a political campaign has been treated in the past.

Section 2, sentence two excerpted:

"[] the Department of the Treasury [will] not take any adverse action [] where speech of similar character has [] not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office."

If the future action or speech allegedly allowed by the executive action has "not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign," why is "...not tak[ing] any adverse action..." any different than how such action or speech would have been treated before the executive order?