@ujeanThe question in front of the SCOTUS is, can businesses use religious beliefs as a reason to not obey the laws?If the answer is yes, then a business run by a Christian Scientist can refuse provide any health benefits to its employees because Christian Scientists don’t believe in medical science.
Other businesses — depending on the religion of the owner — can refuse to appoint supervisors because their religion believes that women shouldn’t have authority over men.Other businesses can ask for segregation by race because the owners’ religious beliefs doesn’t believe in the mingling of the races.
Correction-I meant to say:Other businesses — depending on the religion of the owner — can refuse to appoint female supervisors because their religion believes that women shouldn’t have authority over men.
but, hobby lobby does business in china. which has a 1 child policy. doesn’t that violate their religious tenet of be fruitful and multiply? so, hobby lobby is only saying their religious beliefs are valid in the us, but not anywhere else in the world.
The Hobby Lobby opinion on birth control is pretty new — they used to cover birth control for all of their employees under Clinton and Bush. But then we got a black president. That apparently changed everything, and they suddenly realized that they’d been against it all along for religious principles. But if the Supremes uphold Hobby Lobby, expect a raft of new religions that protect the right to pollute, ignore zoning laws, hire children, pay sub-minimum wage, not pay taxes, and who knows, support Sharia law. Hey, it’s religion.
What about the religious beliefs of customers? If I, hypothetically, belong to a religion that believes in punching a Hobby Lobby manager in the nose for being a sanctimonious, stencil-selling prig, would I be within my First Amendment rights?
Come to think of it, I belong to the Church of the SubGenius™. I think that that’s exactly what we believe.
@SSRISN12Hobby Lobby’s views are not that extreme but it is the precedent that this decision creates that I worry about. Like NH41 said, a company can refuse to hire female managers or segregate their employees by race because of their religious beliefs.
@pcolliI know you are in the UK, where medical coverage is provided by the NHS. In the US, most people receive their medical benefits from their employers. Hobby Lobby, a family owned corporation, refused to cover certain types of birth control in the insurance they provided their employees because of the family’s religious beliefs which put it in conflict with rules in the Obamacare.Hobby Lobby used religious freedom as the reason for not obeying the rules and the Supreme Court of the United States sided with Hobby Lobby.
@Molon LabeHobby Lobby will be paying for the “killing of the children” whether they provide coverage or not. The employee will use the money that she recieves as a salary from Hobby Lobby to pay for the contraception or procedure that Hobby Lobby refuses to cover by the insurance it provides.
Whether or not Hobby Lobby’s views on birth control are extreme is irrelevant. What matters is the precedent set here – that a for-profit business now can choose to ignore certain laws based on the religious views of its owners. That is truly unprecedented. Frankly, the left should exploit this as much as possible, bring it to ridiculous extremes. I suggest businesses firing all evangelical Christians based on their religion. I suggest firing all gun-owning employees because their religion demands it. You can say your religion forbids pretty much anything – say, paying taxes or giving days off. It’s religious freedom, after all!
So, some of your compensation for working is not really yours. Why shouldn’t employers be able to restrict their employees from spending any of their compensation on things the employer doesn’t approve of?
BE THIS GUY over 10 years ago
Can Muslim businesses require female employees to where a veil?
Sherlock Watson over 10 years ago
Holy $#!+.
Newshound41 over 10 years ago
@ujeanThe question in front of the SCOTUS is, can businesses use religious beliefs as a reason to not obey the laws?If the answer is yes, then a business run by a Christian Scientist can refuse provide any health benefits to its employees because Christian Scientists don’t believe in medical science.
Other businesses — depending on the religion of the owner — can refuse to appoint supervisors because their religion believes that women shouldn’t have authority over men.Other businesses can ask for segregation by race because the owners’ religious beliefs doesn’t believe in the mingling of the races.
BE THIS GUY over 10 years ago
@Jonathan MasonI apologize to my fellow readers for the error.
Newshound41 over 10 years ago
Correction-I meant to say:Other businesses — depending on the religion of the owner — can refuse to appoint female supervisors because their religion believes that women shouldn’t have authority over men.
vwdualnomand over 10 years ago
but, hobby lobby does business in china. which has a 1 child policy. doesn’t that violate their religious tenet of be fruitful and multiply? so, hobby lobby is only saying their religious beliefs are valid in the us, but not anywhere else in the world.
lindaf over 10 years ago
Since that moronic motto has only been on our currency since 1956, I doubt the country will collapse in flames if it were removed.
ARodney over 10 years ago
The Hobby Lobby opinion on birth control is pretty new — they used to cover birth control for all of their employees under Clinton and Bush. But then we got a black president. That apparently changed everything, and they suddenly realized that they’d been against it all along for religious principles. But if the Supremes uphold Hobby Lobby, expect a raft of new religions that protect the right to pollute, ignore zoning laws, hire children, pay sub-minimum wage, not pay taxes, and who knows, support Sharia law. Hey, it’s religion.
Dapperdan61 Premium Member over 10 years ago
Well SCOTUS has ruled that Hobby Lobby doesn’t have to pay for contraception. I wonder if they pay for male erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra ?
pauljmsn over 10 years ago
What about the religious beliefs of customers? If I, hypothetically, belong to a religion that believes in punching a Hobby Lobby manager in the nose for being a sanctimonious, stencil-selling prig, would I be within my First Amendment rights?
Come to think of it, I belong to the Church of the SubGenius™. I think that that’s exactly what we believe.
cccare56 over 10 years ago
What I heard is that the one company supports some kinds of birth control but not others.
They don’t support the IUD or morning-after pill because those methods stop a pregnancy if it’s started.
BCP and tube-tying and vasectomies are still ok I guess.
BE THIS GUY over 10 years ago
@SSRISN12Hobby Lobby’s views are not that extreme but it is the precedent that this decision creates that I worry about. Like NH41 said, a company can refuse to hire female managers or segregate their employees by race because of their religious beliefs.
louieglutz over 10 years ago
what goes around comes around. obama and holder don’t believe in enforcing the laws they don’t like. so why not the rest of us?
BE THIS GUY over 10 years ago
@pcolliI know you are in the UK, where medical coverage is provided by the NHS. In the US, most people receive their medical benefits from their employers. Hobby Lobby, a family owned corporation, refused to cover certain types of birth control in the insurance they provided their employees because of the family’s religious beliefs which put it in conflict with rules in the Obamacare.Hobby Lobby used religious freedom as the reason for not obeying the rules and the Supreme Court of the United States sided with Hobby Lobby.
Newshound41 over 10 years ago
@Molon LabeHobby Lobby will be paying for the “killing of the children” whether they provide coverage or not. The employee will use the money that she recieves as a salary from Hobby Lobby to pay for the contraception or procedure that Hobby Lobby refuses to cover by the insurance it provides.
cdward over 10 years ago
Whether or not Hobby Lobby’s views on birth control are extreme is irrelevant. What matters is the precedent set here – that a for-profit business now can choose to ignore certain laws based on the religious views of its owners. That is truly unprecedented. Frankly, the left should exploit this as much as possible, bring it to ridiculous extremes. I suggest businesses firing all evangelical Christians based on their religion. I suggest firing all gun-owning employees because their religion demands it. You can say your religion forbids pretty much anything – say, paying taxes or giving days off. It’s religious freedom, after all!
Uncle Joe over 10 years ago
So, some of your compensation for working is not really yours. Why shouldn’t employers be able to restrict their employees from spending any of their compensation on things the employer doesn’t approve of?