David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby knows a thing or two about the threats facing Americans’ freedom of religion.
In a recent op-ed written for The Tennesseean, he wrote about his business’ Supreme Court victory over the ObamaCare mandate that employer-provided health insurance plans must provide coverage for potentially life-terminating contraceptive drugs. Unlike the 16 contraceptives the Hobby Lobby plan covered, the government mandated four more that had the potential to take effect after conception, when Green said his family believes life begins.
Hobby Lobby faced $1.3 million in fine each day they did not comply with the mandate.
“Fortunately, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby in 2014, but it’s frightening to think that we—and all Americans—were just one judge away from losing our religious freedom,” he wrote. “Make no mistake, the vacancy left by Justice Scalia and the subsequent appointment to fill his seat makes this presidential election one of the most significant in modern times.”
With that frame of reference, Green compared and contrasted the two principal presidential candidates, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump.
“During a 2015 speech at the Women in the World Summit, Hillary Clinton declared that religious beliefs ‘have to be changed,'” he wrote. “What I fear she really means is that the beliefs of people of faith across our nation will be discounted, and those people will be forced to violate their conscience under her presidency—a philosophy that would be carried out by anyone she nominates for the Supreme Court.”
He wrote the Constitution was created for the express purpose of protecting certain fundamental rights and “not just when they’re aligned with the current administration’s policies” or when they’re convenient. Those rights, he added, should be “the highest priority for our lawmakers and elected officials.”
“Clinton has made no secret she believes government interests supersede the protection of religious liberty,” he added. “In contrast, Donald Trump has been steadfast in expressing his commitment to uphold the Constitution, and his list of possible Supreme Court nominees inspires confidence that there is hope in my future—and in my grandchildren’s future—for a country that will value those most fundamental rights.”
America’s foundation of religious liberty is already at risk, Green concluded, before offering a full-throated endorsement.
“With Hillary Clinton as president, our foundation will surely crumble,” he wrote. “For Americans who value freedom of religion, we must elect a president who will support a Supreme Court that upholds not only this freedom, but all that have emanated from it. That president is Donald Trump.”
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