And by taxed, I mean property taxes. After all we have asshat Cardinal Edwin O’Brien saying that the church will challenge the marriage equality law in Maryland.

For example, down the street from me is the Holy Ghost church. It’s rectory is valued at just under a million dollars per records on file. And the church itself, a larger structure is probably twice that.

So three million in value. At a tax rate of $30 per thousand the annual tax would be $90,000 a year. Now multiply that out by the 25 Catholic churches in the city and the annual amount would come to $2,250,000 in tax revenue, assuming a valuation of $3 million per church.

Now I’m  focusing mainly on Catholic churches here because they’ve been the most vocal in opposing the rights of the LGBT community.

I have said it before and I will say it again. If you want to participate in the political system you MUST pay the price of admittance in the form of taxes.

For too long I’ve watched as the church lobbies against progressive causes in the state. Watched as they attack the rights of women and the LGBT community as a whole. And I await the brave politician who will step up and say enough is enough and finally move to end the tax breaks enjoyed by the churches.