Former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke in October said he wanted to use the tax code to punish churches and religious organizations – including hospitals and colleges – for adhering to Biblical principles.

That’s one reason why Democrat O’Rourke is now a former candidate.

It was not surprise when he dropped out of the race. He was brutally honest about promoting abortion, registration and confiscation of firearms and reparations for slavery. Many Democrats like using the tax code and the IRS to punish their political enemies and reward their friends. O’Rourke was the first major Democrat dimwitted enough to admit it during a campaign.

New York State has now passed a law to muzzle churches when it comes to political candidates. It mirrors the 1954 federal Johnson Amendment but the Johnson Amendment has never been used against a church to strip away tax-exempt donation status. New York Democrats want to change that.

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, and Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska introduced a resolution to remind Washington that religious freedom is a God-given right that matters just as much today as it did when our country was founded.

Government shouldn’t tell churches or Christians what they can say or not say.  Even though O’Rourke is sideline, the battle for religious freedom is still underway.