HOBBY LOBBY CEO PENS LETTER ABOUT LOSS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The CEO of Hobby Lobby has penned a letter about the tragic loss of religious freedom and liberty in America. The Christian crafts company has been forced by the Obama administration to pay for drugs for its employees in their health care plan that may cause abortions.
Doing so violates the religious freedom of the founders and owners of Hobby Lobby, but the firm has, so far, been unsuccessful in getting courts to give it an exemption while its lawsuit against the HHS mandate continues.
The letter from Hobby Lobby CEO David Green that LifeNews received follows:
When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God‘s word. From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.
We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.
Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief.
So, Hobby Lobby – and my family – are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.
Everyone is too busy watching the bowl games and the Bulls. NFL playoffs too. Besides this dont affect us. Its about some hillbilly far away.
ReplyDeleteThe passage of gay marriage bills, forced medical contributions, etc. etc, etc, are only the first steps toward the eventual labeling of the Catholic Church as a hate organization and eventual seizure of their properties. It wont stop with the churches.
ReplyDeleteBarack Obama, the choice of ne'er-do-wells and malcontents.
ReplyDeleteWe're f**ked!
New legislation proposed by California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) in response to the Sandy Hook shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, will provide a much more comprehensive approach to assault weapons control than the original Federal Assault Weapons ban of 1994, reports the New York Times. But what are the specifics of the senator’s proposed regulations?
ReplyDeleteThe Feinstein bill will:
- Ban the sale, transfer, importation or manufacturing of 120 specifically named firearms, as well as other guns which can accept detachable magazines and have one or more “military” characteristics.
- Ban the sale, transfer, importation or manufacturing of semiautomatic weapons with fixed magazines of more than 10 rounds.
- Strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban by moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test. Detachable bayonet mounts and flash suppressors are no longer considered military characteristics.
- Bans firearms with “thumbhole stocks” and “bullet buttons.” Thumbhole stocks are ergonomic modifications which make weapons easier to aim, while bullet buttons increase the speed of ejecting a spent magazine.
- Bans ammunition feeding mechanisms which can store more than 10 rounds.
- Protects the rights of existing gun owners by grandfathering in weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment, as well as exempting 900 specifically named weapons and antique, manually-operated, or permanently disabled weapons.
- Requires registration of grandfathered weapons under the National Firearms Act, which necessitates a background check, registration of type and serial number, positive identification, certification that registered guns are legal under state or local law.
- Dedicates funding to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to enforce the above laws.
Positive identification means they will know where to go when they decide to seize the guns.
Deletedept of homeland Security has ordered 4 billion rounds of ammo. What do they need all that for?
DeleteWhen they outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. When I see that clown McCarthy of the CPD talk it frightens me. I would never have thought the day would come when the Police Chief inspires fear in me. Outlaws are out of control in Chicago and beyond. Meanwhile these political appointee fools are afraid to enforce the laws. They are afraid of our media. The media is America's number one enemy. The sooner we figure this out the better.
ReplyDeleteGet a camcorder or flip cam and go out and ask these politicians directly. Use the same ambush techiniques they used for decades targeting only political conservatives. If nothing else you can upload video of them refusing to answer simple questions, walking away, pushing your videocam, or getting their thug guards to try to intimidate you. They will not come across favorably. Use the internet while we stil can! Breitbart lives !!
They are going to do everything they can to identify who has guns and where those guns are.
DeleteI'm not clear on this, exactly. What is Hobby Lobby offering their employees now? Wouldn't most healthcare insurance plans provide for abortion?
ReplyDeleteRight outside Youngstown Ohio is a brand new camp being built by FEMA. Guess what they are building adjacent to it? A railroad yard. Why is that?
ReplyDeleteI hear about this stuff all the time. But do you have any actual facts to back this up? Any photos, or web sites or articles? If not you just sound like a paranoid conspiracy believer. Where exactly "right outside Youngstown Ohio" is this happening.
DeleteJust heard Ann Coulter talking about the liberal hypocrisy on guns. We all know how Rosie O'Dopnnell wants to take from you the right to own a gun and thereby protect yourself from harm while she has several body guards, armed of course, to protect her. Coulter says that if the liberals want to ban guns, then we need to ban anyone who makes over $250,000 per year from hiring body guards. Makes sense, time to level the playing field.
DeleteMaybe I am wrong, but I bet that if the election were held TODAY, Obama would lose. I think he has already frittered away any good will between himself and the Democratic Congress, let alone the Republicans. But his bestest buddies in the media are still suckin up to him like a lollipop in the desert.
ReplyDeleteThis gun grab will go nowhere, however. Too many Democrats and Democrat politicians still have enough sense to oppose this - I hope.
There is no "President Obama"
ReplyDeleteThe Obama "Presidency" is nonexistent. The media refers to Barack Obama as "President Obama" I have said it any times in the past and will reiterate it now: Barack Obama has never been the President of the United States.
I truly believe that Barack Obama will someday be regarded as one of the greatest con men of all time.
There used to be conscientious objectors during the Vietname War. I'm not sure why this is any different. Government, and Obama, are overreaching here.
ReplyDelete