Hobby Lobby decision will not lead to anarchy

Published 7:00 am Tuesday, July 29, 2014

I seriously doubt that a Supreme Court decision regarding birth control pills for employees of a “closely held corporation” will result in anarchy for this nation. A “closely held corporation” is one where no more than fi ve persons own a majority of the stock. Hobby Lobby is classifi ed as “closely held” because the Green family, who founded Hobby Lobby, own the majority of the stock and there are no more than fi ve of them owning that stock. The Green family wears their religious beliefs on their sleeves and are not ashamed of it.

Several years ago, the manager of the Slidell store told me that the main reason he applied for a job there is because the store is closed on Sunday in order for the employees to be able to attend church with their families. The liberal news media and persons in Washington, in elected as well as appointed offi ces, misrepresented the facts in the Supreme Court decision. In many cases, they outright and knowingly lied about the case. The healthcare plan know as “Obamacare” requires group insurance plans for companies with certain numbers of employees to provide contraception pills for employees and/or their spouses.

To comply, Hobby Lobby’s insurance company listed 20 such prescriptions in the plan. Hobby Lobby objected to four of them because the effect they have is to kill the embryo or fetus. The other 16 are available to employees. If an employee wants one of the four that were objectionable, they simply have to get a prescription and pay the cost themselves. The Federal Government fi led suit against Hobby Lobby to keep all twenty pills in the insurance plan.

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The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that since Hobby Lobby is a “closely held” corporation that the Obamacare provision did not apply. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made a speech on the fl oor of the Senate and remarked, “Five white guys on the Supreme Court should not be able to tell a woman what she can do or what she cannot do.” Justice Clarence Thomas is one of the fi ve who voted in favor of the employer.

Possibly Sen. Reid has never met Justice Thomas. Justice Thomas has been on the Court since 1991. He has been African American since 1948 when he was born in Georgia. This is just an example of how people in offi ce in Washington do not know what they are talking about. This is a reason that we should all get our news from several sources that do not include the comedians on TV.

By: Jim Towler