July 7, 2014
Church and State?
The owners of Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned craft supply chain, sued the Obama administration so as to avoid having to include emergency contraceptives and intrauterine devices in their health insurance plans. Owners David and Barbara Green claimed their strict religious beliefs prevented them from offering contraceptive coverage in their employee health plan and they took their case all the way to the Supreme Court. The conservative court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, stating that it was a “substantial burden” on the religious freedoms of closely-held corporations for the government to require them to provide contraception as part of their employee health care plans.
So, what does this mean for you?
Hobby Lobby successfully convinced the Supreme Court to allow them to circumvent the law in the name of religion. Sadly, this ruling has opened the door for nearly every Tom, Dick and Harry to claim they don’t have to follow the law because of their religious beliefs.
Unbiased Political News
The day after the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, a group of religious leaders sent a letter to President Obama stating they wanted to be exempt from a forthcoming executive order that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT people.
“Without a robust religious exemption, this expansion of hiring rights will come at an unreasonable cost to the common good, national unity and religious freedom,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, a BBQ restaurant owner claimed that he was within his rights to refuse service to African-American patrons based on his religious beliefs.
In the case brought before the Supreme Court, Maurice Bessinger stated that his religion required him to keep black people from eating in his restaurant. Bessinger said he was happy to take black money, so long as they ordered their food to-go.
Do you see where this is going?
Unbiased Political News
The separation of Church and State has been extremely important in our nation’s history for these very reasons. With America being a melting pot of religious faiths and beliefs, government was never set up or prepared to allow anyone to break the law simply because of religious belief. However, the Supreme Court has now opened Pandora’s Box in allowing religion to dictate law.
What do you think of the Hobby Lobby ruling?
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