Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater is urging Americans to show their support for the First Amendment by shopping at Hobby Lobby, one of several private businesses persecuted by the Obama administration for its conscientious objection to being forced to fund abortions.
[B]ecause of Obamacare, Hobby Lobby is being forced by the federal government to provide abortion-inducing drugs to its employees -- a mandate that violates the conscience and values of its owners, Atwater writes in a Wednesday editorial published by Newsmax. [T]he latest federal court ruling was that the government could force them to pay fines of $1.3 million a day for noncompliance. This outrageous financial penalty threatens the company's continued success and puts in jeopardy the future of more than 18,000 employees.
In his editorial, Atwater a staunch Catholic and former seminarian briefly reviews Hobby Lobby's cause of action and where it presently stands in the litigation process. David Green, the Christian founder and owner of the popular arts and crafts store chain, is suing the Obama administration for its promulgation of an insurance mandate that requires for-profit employers to subsidize contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs for their workers.
You may ask, 'how can I help?' It is crystal clear the case brought by the Greens is about freedom, not promoting their business, Atwater concludes his commentary. Nevertheless, I plan to shop there and let my dollars be a simple expression of my willingness to stand up for this American company and the men and women who work there.
Hobby Lobby is being represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonsectarian public interest law firm. The firm is named after St. Thomas Becket, a 12th century archbishop of Canterbury murdered by agents of King Henry II of England for the cleric's opposition to state interference in the Church's internal affairs.
A hearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit is scheduled for May 23.
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at (954) 235-9116.
