Exclusive: Democratic senators to file amicus brief in Hobby Lobby birth control case

[ProSense]

Exclusive: Democratic senators to file amicus brief in Hobby Lobby birth control case

By Liz Goodwin

In a brief to be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, 19 Democratic senators are siding with the Obama administration against evangelical Christian businessmen who argue that paying for their employees’ birth control, a requirement under Obamacare, violates their company’s religious freedom.

The senators—five of them women—argue in their “friend of the court” brief that the owners of the Oklahoma-based crafts store chain Hobby Lobby are not exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate simply because some forms of birth control offend their religious beliefs....owners, David Green and his family, are suing the federal government over the mandate, which says large employers’ insurance plans must offer birth control without co-pays or else face steep fines.

A lower court upheld the Greens’ case, ruling that the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) protects the Greens from having to adjust their insurance plans to cover contraception for their 13,000 employees....The 19 senators—all of whom voted for the popular RFRA in 1993—argue that the law’s religious protections were never intended apply to a for-profit company. Hobby Lobby’s “gross misapplication” of the law perverts Congress’ intent in passing it, they write in the brief, which was obtained by Yahoo News.

<...>

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democratic senator who led the amicus brief effort...The other senators who signed the brief are: Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Barbara Mikulsi (D-Md.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

http://news.yahoo.com/democratic-senators-to-file-amicus-brief-in-hobby-lobby-birth-control-case-025129006.html

[NV Whino]

1. This should be interesting.

[ProSense]

2. Kick! n/t

[Iliyah]

3. K & R

I'm tired of religion and corporations and a crazy political party telling me how to control my body. What freedom huh.

[azureblue]

4. It sounds nuts

but seriously, using HL's logic, could I go there and throw stones at anyone who wears clothing made of two different kinds of material? Can I go there and refuse to be waited on by women, who are on their periods, or men who have cut their hair at their temples, or who eat shrimp or play football? Can I simply take items from their store, by declaring that the item is "for God" and therefore free?

[AllyCat]

5. "company's" religious freedom?

Companies don't have religion. People do. Bogus argument.

[Iliyah]

6. Corporations are people toooooooooooooo

[freshwest]

8. +1

[tsuki]

7. I wonder how much of their crappy Hobby Lobby

stuff comes from China with its enforced one child policy? Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot they were hypocrites.

[Thor_MN]

9. I'd like to see the corporation's Baptismal Certificate and church attendance records.

[brett_jv]

10. I'd like to see a large Muslim-owned business take up a similar case ...

It'd be fun to see them file a suit just like this, claiming that they cannot be forced to provide insurance coverage for any physical or health problem that relates (or may relate) to the consumption of alcohol, including cirrhosis or accidents or fights that occur while under the influence.

Perhaps THEN, some of the stupider people in this country who support this kind of nonsense will wake the fuck up about what a slippery slope this whole concept is.

Wait, nevermind ... anyone stupid enough to support such exemptions for Hobby Lobby would fail to understand the parallels with what the Muslim company is doing, and would protest their doing it, while still supporting HL.

Cause you can't fix stupid.