I received some chain email about Hobby Lobby which is based in the State of Oklahoma but has branches across the good ole’ USA. The chain email is designated as originating from David Green the Founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Green reports he is suing the Federal government over Obamacare (Officially Known As: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA). SA HERE and HERE).
I did a bit of simple Googling to make sure this was not some silly disinformation. I found the chain email is authentic and is actually near word for word of David Green’s statement found on his attorney’s law firm handling the civil suit. The Hobby Lobby family is seeking an exemption on paying the Obamacare tax that small businesses with over 50 employees based on the First Amendment guarantees of Religious Liberty. Specifically the Green Family does not insurance in their employee plan that mandates baby killing of unborn children.
So below is the chain email followed by some further information from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
JRH 10/17/12 (Hat Tip: Stephen)
************************************
Hobby Lobby Case
Originated from David Green
Found my inbox: 10/16/2012 5:46 PM
Chain Email
Yes ... This is true!
Our Government at work
By David Green - Hobby Lobby CEO
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 healthcare 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.
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 healthcare 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.
My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that's a choice no American — and no American business — should have to make.
David Green is the CEO and founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious beliefs.
They have exempted thousands of companies (friends of Obama) but will not except Christian organizations.
Including the Catholic Church.
Just remember this in November!
Since you will not see this covered in any of the liberal media, pass this on to all your contacts.
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.
My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that's a choice no American — and no American business — should have to make.
David Green is the CEO and founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious beliefs.
They have exempted thousands of companies (friends of Obama) but will not except Christian organizations.
Including the Catholic Church.
Just remember this in November!
Since you will not see this covered in any of the liberal media, pass this on to all your contacts.
Be the kind of person that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says~~
"Oh NO, he's up!"
If you forward this message, please remove all addresses before forwarding and use the "bcc" area when forwarding to several addresses to protect our e-mail friends.
This message may contain confidential information. If you are not the designated recipient, please notify the sender immediately, and delete the original and any copies. Any use of the message by you is prohibited.
End of Chain Email
_______________________
Hobby Lobby Sues over HHS Mandate
Faithful to its Biblical founding, store demands relief from providing “morning after” and “week after” pill
For Immediate Release: September 12, 2012
Media Contact: Emily Hardman, 202.349.7224ehardman@becketfund.org
(Updated September 19, 2012, 6:18pm)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a privately held retail chain with more than 500 arts and crafts stores in 41 states, filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, opposing the Health and Human Services mandate, which forces the Christian-owned-and-operated business to provide, without co-pay, the “morning after pill” and “week after pill” in their health insurance plan, or face crippling fines up to 1.3 million dollars per day.
“By being required to make a choice between sacrificing our faith or paying millions of dollars in fines, we essentially must choose which poison pill to swallow,” said David Green, Hobby Lobby CEO and founder. “We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate.”
Hobby Lobby is the largest and only non-Catholic-owned business to file a lawsuit against the HHS mandate, focusing sharp criticism on the administration’s regulation that forces all companies, regardless of religious conviction, to cover abortion-inducing drugs (the “morning after pill” and “week after pill”).
“Washington politicians cannot force families to abandon their faith just to earn a living,” said Lori Windham, Senior Counsel, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “Every American, including family business owners like the Greens, should be free to live and do business according to their religious beliefs.”
Founded in an Oklahoma City garage in 1972, the Green family has grown Hobby Lobby from one 300-square-foot retail space into more than 500 stores in 41 states.
“It is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured,” said Green. “Therefore we seek to honor God by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles. The conflict for me is that our family is being forced to choose between following the laws of the country that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and have supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families.”
The business’s lawsuit acts to preserve its right to carry out its mission free from government coercion.
There are now 28 separate lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate, which is a regulation under the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”). These HHS challenges were not affected by the Supreme Court’s June 28th ruling on the constitutionality of the “individual mandate.”
The Becket Fund led the charge against the unconstitutional HHS mandate, and along with Hobby Lobby represents: Wheaton College, Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian University, the Eternal Word Television Network, and Ave Maria University.
(UPDATE: September 19, 2012, 6:18pm)
The Green family has no moral objection to the use of preventive contraceptives and will continue its longstanding practice of covering these preventive contraceptives for its employees. However, the Green family cannot provide or pay for two specific abortion-inducing drugs. These drugs are Plan B and Ella, the so-called morning-after pill and the week-after pill. Covering these drugs, as the government is forcing them to do under the threat of $1.3 million penalty per day, would violate their most deeply held religious belief that life begins at conception, when an egg is fertilized. The FDA-approved government birth control guide clearly states that these two drugs, the morning-after pill and the week-after pill, may prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the womb, thus aborting the fertilized egg.
The Green family respects the religious convictions of all Americans, including those who do not agree with them. All they are asking is for the government to give them the same respect by not forcing them to violate their religious beliefs.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions—from Anglicans to Zoroastrians. For 18 years its attorneys are recognized as experts in the field of church-state law, and they recently won a 9-0 victory in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, which The Wall Street Journal called one of “the most important religious liberty cases in a half century.”
For more information, or to arrange an interview with one of the attorneys, please contact Emily Hardman, Communications Director, at ehardman@becketfund.org or call 202.349.7224.
Additional Information:
Complaint (September 12, 2012)
Request for Preliminary Injunction (September 12, 2012)
Hobby Lobby Case Page (legal documents, video, images, FAQ, Media Information Sheet, and other resources)
HHS Information Central (all 28 HHS mandate cases, legal documents, resources, and interactive map)
David Green’s Press Statement (September 12, 2012)
Recording of Press Call (September 12, 2012, 11:30am EST with David Green and Kyle Duncan)
_________________________
Hobby Lobby Media Information and Fact Sheet
Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.
§ Founded by David Green in an Oklahoma City garage in 1972, Hobby Lobby has grown from one 300-square-foot retail store into more than 500 stores in 41 states. The company was built from the ground up, and it now employs more than 22,500 individuals nationwide.
§ David Green serves as CEO and founder and his son, Steve Green, serves as Hobby Lobby’s president.
§ Hobby Lobby’s headquarters are located in an approximately 5.2 million-square-foot manufacturing, distribution and office complex in Oklahoma City.
§ The Green family believes that “it is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured.” Therefore they seek to honor God by “operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.”
§ The Greens are consistently faithful to what they believe, in both their personal and professional lives. The Green family owns the world’s largest collection of Biblical antiquities, and the family is a generous contributor to numerous Christian organizations across the nation and the world.
§ In honoring those Biblical principles in business, the company’s stores are open only 66 hours per week, and they are closed on Sundays to allow employees to spend time with their families.
§ The Green family believes in sharing its faith, so the company also places full-page ads at Christmas and Easter in all of the major cities where they operate in order to share the company’s convictions.
§ In 2010, Founder and CEO David Green and his wife, Barbara, signed on to the Giving Pledge, agreeing to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. In the letter, Green said, “We honor the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles. From helping orphanages in faraway lands to helping ministries in America, Hobby Lobby has always been a tool for the Lord’s work. For me and my family, charity equals ministry, which equals the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
§ The Green family employs company chaplains to minister to employees’ personal needs.
§ Hobby Lobby also provides generously for their employees.
§ Hobby Lobby increased the minimum wage of its full-time employees each year since 2009. As of April 2012, full-time hourly employees start at $13 per hour– more than 80 percent above the federal minimum wage, and part-time hourly employees make $9 per hour.
§ Hobby Lobby offers an on-site health clinic at its headquarters that is open to all full-time employees of Hobby Lobby and its affiliated businesses, including employees’ spouses and dependents who are covered under the company’s health insurance plan. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and employees covered under Hobby Lobby’s health insurance plan have no co-pay for a clinic office visit.
Hobby Lobby Lawsuit Against HHS Mandates
§ Hobby Lobby is one of few companies adding jobs during recession, and the government is penalizing them. The government is penalizing the job creators.
§ On September 12, 2012, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, on behalf of Hobby Lobby, filed a lawsuit against the Health and Human Services Mandate, which forces the Green family to violate their Biblical principals by providing drugs considered to be abortion-inducing drugs—namely the “morning after pill” and “week after pill,” or pay severe fines.
§ If Hobby Lobby does not comply with the HHS Mandate, they will be forced to pay up to 1.3 million dollars per day in fines.
§ Hobby Lobby is the largest and first non-Catholic-owned corporation to sue over the HHS Mandate, and is the fifth for-profit case overall. There are also 22 non-profit religious organizations suing.
§ Unlike the Catholic for-profit organizations, Hobby Lobby does not object to the contraception requirement in the mandate, but morally objects to providing the “morning-after pill” and “week-after pill” to their employees, in violation of their Biblical principles.
###
Additional Info:
______________________
Court Hearing Set for Hobby Lobby: November 1, 2012
Arts and Crafts Store Asks for Immediate Halt to ‘Abortion-Pill Mandate’ that Violates Founders’ Christian Faith
MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release: October 15, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – A federal court has scheduled a November 1, hearing to consider whether to halt enforcement of the HHS mandate, which forces Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a Christian-owned-and-operated business, to provide the “morning after pill” and “week after pill” in violation of their deeply held religious beliefs, or face crippling fines up to $1.3 million per day.
WHAT:
Court hearing on Preliminary Injunction on Hobby Lobby Case
WHO:
Kyle Duncan, General Counsel, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
WHEN:
November 1, 2012
9:00am CST/10:00am EST
WHERE:
US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
200 NW 4th Street
Oklahoma City OK 73102
Courtroom #304
Becket Fund attorneys will be available for comment immediately following the hearing. For more information, or to arrange an interview with one of the attorneys, please contact Emily Hardman, Communications Director, at ehardman@becketfund.org or call 202.349.7224.
Hobby Lobby is the largest and only non-Catholic-owned business to file a lawsuit against the HHS mandate. The Green family has no moral objection to the use of preventive contraceptives and will continue its longstanding practice of covering these preventive contraceptives for its employees. However, it is in violation of the Green families’ faith to provide or pay for the “morning-after pill” and the “week-after pill,” believing that life begins at conception, when an egg is fertilized.
The business’s lawsuit acts to preserve the Green family’s rights to carry out their mission free from government coercion.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. The Becket Fund has an 18-year history of defending religious liberty for people of all faiths. Its attorneys have been recognized as experts in the field of church-state law. The Becket Fund recently won a 9-0 victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, which The Wall Street Journal called one of “the most important religious liberty cases in a half century.”
Additional Information:
Hobby Lobby Case Page (images, background, legal docs, press releases, news coverage and more)
HHS Information Central (all 33 HHS mandate cases, legal documents, resources, and interactive map)
No comments:
Post a Comment