I thought this was worth sharing...it is simply not fair, right or Constitutional what the federal government is doing to American citizens.
A Letter from Hobby Lobby Stores
CEO
By David Green, the founder and CEO
of Hobby Lobby Stores,
Inc.
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.
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.
The government
cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental
religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but
will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic
church.
Sincerely,
David Green, CEO and
Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
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