Does the Respect for Marriage Act create “clearly defined public policy” under Bob Jones University?
Bob Jones University stands for the proposition that every organization exempted under IRC 501(c)(3) must be charitable, in the legal sense, and that racial discrimination is not charitable. The Supreme Court found that racial discrimination violated a “clearly defined,” “fundamental,” “established,” super duper, holy grail type public policy. But we all know that the holding is sui generis, resulting in no real precedential value outside of its factual context. The case has not been relied upon since to revoke or deny exemption. Still, there was enough concern that Congress specifically disclaimed the establishment of a fundamental public policy sufficient to deny tax exemption to religious organizations that refuse to recognize same-sex marriage or perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. Here is a brief PSA discussing (its a free video only if you agree to sit through a 30 second sales pitch — and BTW, never accept free lodging or meals from a time-share company or you will sit through more than a 30 second commercial):
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