Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)

Sen. Cruz: Landmark Victory for Religious Liberty

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today released the following statement commending the Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.

“Today the Supreme Court handed our nation a landmark victory for religious liberty.   The decision affirms that Americans, contrary to what the Obama Administration attempted to impose, have a right to live and work in accordance to their conscience and can’t be forced to surrender their religious freedom once they open a business.

“This ruling is a repudiation of the Obama Administration’s untenable position that people with sincerely held religious beliefs should be forced to comply with an unconstitutional mandate while a parade of waivers, exemptions, and delays are granted for purely commercial and political interests.

“In making this ruling the Court relied on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was passed with broad bipartisan support, proving the strength and necessity of the legislation and showing the nation the effectiveness members of Congress can have when they work together to protect religious liberty.

“Certainly, the struggle for religious freedom will continue, as cases made by hundreds more plaintiffs will wend their way through the courts. The right to religious liberty, as enshrined in the First Amendment, remains under an incredible assault by this Administration on a variety of fronts. But, with this decision, I am hopeful that the courts will also work to safeguard the religious liberty for non-profits, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor and others, just as the Supreme Court did today for private businesses.”

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Former Gov. Mike Huckabee

Facebook posting:
The Supreme Court got it right, today, but barely. In the 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the government can't force an employer in a privately held company to provide abortifacient drugs as part of its health care plan.

Only in the la-la land of left would it sound reasonable that government has created not only a 'right' to take the life of a child, but the obligation of providing it, even when it violated the First Amendment rights of that employer. The government can't say, 'you can have some religion, but only what the government agrees is sufficient.' The Hobby Lobby ruling is yet another repudiation of the overreaching dictates of the Obama administration and a good day for freedom.

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Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

Gov. Jindal On Hobby Lobby Decision: Court Rejects Obama Admin. Assault On Religious Liberty

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)

Sen. Paul Praises SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Rand Paul today issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling sided with Hobby Lobby on the contraception mandate: 
 
“Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious freedom by taking a stand with Hobby Lobby. Religious liberty will remain intact and all Americans can stay true to their faith without fear of big government intervention or punishment," Sen. Paul said. “Our nation was founded on the principle of freedom, and with this decision, America will continue to serve as a safe haven for those looking to exercise religious liberty.”
 

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Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Statement by Gov. Perry on Hobby Lobby Ruling

Gov. Rick Perry today released the following statement following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.

"Today's decision is further proof that Obamacare represents one of the greatest governmental overreaches in our nation's history. Religious freedom is an intrinsic part of being American, and the Supreme Court's decision reaffirms that the government cannot mandate that anyone operate in a fashion counter to their most deeply-felt principles."

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)

RUBIO COMMENTS ON HOBBY LOBBY SUPREME COURT DECISION

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby and religious liberty:
 
“A key part of the American Dream has always been the ability of our people to freely practice their faiths without government interference. ObamaCare’s mandates have threatened to change this and, in doing so, erode the American Dream as we know it and our people’s ability to live it. The Supreme Court has correctly recognized that ObamaCare’s trampling of religious liberty in the Hobby Lobby case should not stand.
 
“ObamaCare was written and passed with a clear disregard for the reality that millions of Americans are inspired by their faiths in all aspects of their lives, including the way entrepreneurs manage their businesses. In America, no one should be forced to violate their religious beliefs if they wish to run a business.
 
“The Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision is a re-affirmation of America’s commitment to religious freedom and a reminder of why ObamaCare is such a flawed law that needs to be entirely repealed and replaced.” 
 

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Former Sen. Rick Santorum

Santorum: Today's Ruling a Tremendous Victory for our Freedom of Conscience

Verona, PA -- Former U.S. Senator, former Republican presidential candidate, author of Blue Collar Conservatives and Patriot Voices Chairman Rick Santorum today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby:

 

"The Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare's contraception mandate is a tremendous victory for our freedom of conscience."  

 

"I'm proud of the Green and Hahn families for holding true to their core convictions and standing up to Obamacare's intrusive contraception and abortion coverage mandate.  The Hobby Lobby and the Conestoga Wood Specialties businesses were built on people living out the American dream, and their owners should not have to check their religious beliefs at the door.  For the moment, the Court has restored a vital piece of the Constitution that President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi attempted to deny working Americans: 'the free exercise' of religion.  Today is a great day for all Americans." 

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The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

For Immediate Release: June 30, 2014
Media Contact: Emily Hardman

Supreme Court Victory for Hobby Lobby and Religious Freedom

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Courtgranted a landmark victory for religious liberty today, ruling in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that individuals do not lose their religious freedom when they open a family business.  The court ruled 5-4 in favor of David and Barbara Green and their family business, Hobby Lobby, ruling that they will not be required to violate their faith by including four potentially life-terminating drugs and devices in the company’s health insurance plan or pay severe fines.

“This is a landmark decision for religious freedom.  The Supreme Court recognized that Americans do not lose their religious freedom when they run a family business,” said Lori Windham, Senior Counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and counsel for Hobby Lobby. “This ruling will protect people of all faiths. The Court’s reasoning was clear, and it should have been clear to the government. You can’t argue there are no alternative means when your agency is busy creating alternative means for other people.”

The decision also has important implications for over 50 pending lawsuits brought by non-profit religious organizations, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, which are also challenging the mandate. In two different respects, the Supreme Court strongly signaled that the mandate may be struck down in those cases too. First, it rejected the government’s argument that there was no burden on the Green’s religious exercise because only third parties use the drugs. Second, it held that the government could simply pay for contraception coverage with its own funds, rather than requiring private employers to do so.

“The handwriting is on the wall,” said Windham. “The Court has strongly signaled that the mandate is in trouble in the non-profit cases, too.”

The Court upheld a June 2013 ruling by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals protecting Hobby Lobby and the Green family from the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. That mandate requires Hobby Lobby and co-founders David and Barbara Green to provide and facilitate, against their religious convictions, four potentially life-terminating drugs and devices in the company’s health insurance plan. The Greens argued that the mandate substantially burdened their religious beliefs in violation of a federal law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (see video).

In an opinion by Justice Alito, the Court stated:

The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate . . . against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs. . . . Our responsibility is to enforce RFRA as written, and under the standard that RFRA prescribes, the HHS contraceptive mandate is unlawful.”

Justice Kennedy’s concurrence added: “Among the reasons the United States is so open, so tolerant, and so free is that no person may be restricted or demeaned by government in exercising his or her religion.”

The Greens and their family businesses have no moral objection to providing 16 of the 20 FDA-approved contraceptives under the HHS mandate, and will continue to provide a broad range of contraceptives at no additional cost to their employees.

“Our family is overjoyed by the Supreme Court’s decision. Today the nation’s highest court has re-affirmed the vital importance of religious liberty as one of our country’s founding principles,” said Barbara Green, co-founder of Hobby Lobby. “The Court’s decision is a victory, not just for our family business, but for all who seek to live out their faith. We are grateful to God and to those who have supported us on this difficult journey.”

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 603 stores in 47 states (626 stores by the end of 2014). Devout Christians, the Green family believes that “It is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured” and seek to run their company “in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.”  This includes closing on Sundays and generous treatment of their employees, with full-time hourly workers starting at more than double the federal minimum wage.

Also joining the lawsuit is Mardel Christian & Education, a chain of Christian bookstores owned and operated by members of the Green family.

The case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby was consolidated before the Supreme Court with Conestoga v. Burwell. The Becket Fund represented Hobby Lobby, Mardel and the Greens together with Paul D. Clement of Bancroft, PLLC, who presented the oral argument before the court in March.

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 have been recognized as experts in the field of church-state law. The Becket Fund 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.

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Americans United for Life

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Concerned Women for America

Concerned Women for America Applauds the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, applauds today’s Supreme Court decisions in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood v. Burwell where the Court upheld our fundamental rights to the free exercise of religion.

Penny Nance, CWA’s CEO and President, had this to say:xxx

Concerned Women for America has stood in support of the Green and Hahn families throughout this process because we knew that their courageous efforts would ultimately serve our country for years to come. Religious freedom is one of our most cherished rights, and we are ecstatic that the Supreme Court has sent such a strong message protecting them.

We are especially thankful that the Court saw right through the Obama Administration’s false claim to be working on behalf of all women with this unconstitutional mandate. As our brief to the Court said: “No one person, and certainly not the Government, speaks for the interests of all women, and the Mandate cannot be generalized as a measure that advances the interests of all women.”

The mandate served only that group of women who support the president’s radical pro-abortion agenda, an agenda that would sacrifice our constitutional right to the free exercise of religion at the altar of so-called reproductive rights. It clearly works against those free-thinking women CWA represents who reject society’s imposed feminist values for the freedom envisioned by our founding principles of liberty and justice for all.

The Justices have done the country a great service today by staying true to those principles and preserving religious liberty for all, including the women represented by the other side.

If you would like an interview with Penny Nance, please contact Alison Howard

Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with 500,000 participating members across the country, over 450 Prayer/Action Chapters and Home Teams, 600 trained leaders and over 30 years of service to our nation.

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Family Research Council

Supreme Court Delivers Momentous Religious Freedom Victory

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Family Research Council (FRC) praised today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding religious liberty and protecting the conscience rights of family businesses who object to being forced to pay for the coverage of sterilizations, contraception and drugs that have the potential to destroy an unborn child.

FRC President Tony Perkins learned of the ruling this morning as he met with the Hahn family, founders and owners of Conestoga Wood Specialties, which were represented by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys in this lawsuit challenging the Obama administration mandate.

Perkins made the following comments:

“The Supreme Court has delivered one of the most significant victories for religious freedom in our generation. We are thankful the Supreme Court agreed that the government went too far by mandating that family businesses owners must violate their consciences under threat of crippling fines.

“All Americans can be thankful that the Court reaffirmed that freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition and that the government cannot impose a law on American men and women that forces them to violate their beliefs in order to hold a job, own a business, or purchase health insurance.

“The unfair HHS mandate gave family businesses two non-choices: either violate your deeply held moral beliefs and comply by paying for drugs and services to which you object, or pay crippling fines of up to $100 per day, per employee, for non-compliance.

This mandate threatened the jobs, livelihood and healthcare of millions of Americans and forced those who stood up for their conscience, like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood, to either comply or be punished.

“Thankfully, the threat the HHS mandate imposed on Americans has been deemed unlawful today as a violation of core religious freedom rights. While we celebrate this landmark decision, it is our hope that lower courts will follow the Supreme Court’s lead and protect non-profits like Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, and Wheaton College from the unfair HHS Mandate,” concluded Perkins.

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Faith & Freedom Coalition

Statement by Ralph Reed, Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman on SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Ruling

(Duluth, GA) – Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman Ralph Reed released the following statement in response to the SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Ruling:
 
“The Supreme Court's decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby is an important victory for religious freedom and the right of conscience for all Americans.  By forcing people of faith to subsidize health care services that assaulted their conscience and undermined their religion, the Obama administration showed a lack of respect for the First Amendment.  This case dramatically demonstrates that whenever government gets bigger, freedom contracts.  While we celebrate this victory, we will not rest until Obamacare is repealed in its entirety.”
 
Faith & Freedom Coalition has over 925,000 members and supporters in all 50 states.  FFC advances sound public policy to strengthen the family and marriage, protect innocent life, reduce the tax burden on middle-class families, and lift up the poor and marginalized.
 

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Republican National Committee