That from Hillary Clinton in the wake of the Libyan ambassador's assassination on Tuesday. She went on to state "Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation."
Which makes what follows all the more interesting:
The Obama administration is set to levy as much as a $1.3 million per day fine against a Christian
retail business based on their religious objection to abortifacient drugs, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., with more than 500 arts and crafts stores in 41 states and over 22,500 employees, is reportedly the largest for-profit business yet to file suit over the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring businesses to provide free abortion-causing drugs, such as the “week-after” pill Ella, as non-negotiable “preventive services.”
Lawyers for the private retail chain filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, where the company is based.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty says the company, which started in a garage in Oklahoma City in 1972, is now a booming business amid a struggling economy - making the government crackdown even more outrageous.
“Hobby Lobby is one of few companies adding jobs during recession, and the government is penalizing them,” said the lawyers, who filed the complaint on behalf of the business. “If Hobby Lobby does not comply with the HHS Mandate, they will be forced to pay up to 1.3 million dollars per day in fines.”
That success, says founder and CEO David Green, is inextricably connected to its groundings in the Christian faith.
“We have always operated our company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles, including integrity and service to others,” said Green in a statement Thursday. “We believe wholeheartedly that it is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has been successful. Therefore, we seek to honor him in all that we do.”
Green noted the company keeps fewer hours than most and, like Christian-founded restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A, is closed on Sundays. Meanwhile, he said Hobby Lobby’s minimum wage is 80 percent above the national average, and its headquarters even offers an in-house clinic where employees with company health insurance can visit for free.
Green and his wife Barbara in 2010 signed a pledge to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy: “For me and my family, charity equals ministry, which equals the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
For that reason, he said, a government mandate forcing the company to provide abortifacient drugs is no side issue.
“Our family is now being forced to choose between following the laws of the land that we love,” said Green, “or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful, and have supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families.”
I'm thinking, but check me on this, that levying million dollar fines each day against a business because its owners are refusing to go against their religious beliefs might just be denigration and religious intolerance.
Wonder if the Green's could call upon Hillary for help.
Something tells me that answer isn't just no... but hell no.
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