Liberty Institute Supports Rights Of Faith-Based Businesses To Exercise Religious Freedom

Liberty Institute Files Brief at the United States Supreme Court in Support of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties in High-Profile Case Against Obama's Abortion Pill Mandate

PLANO, Texas, Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Liberty Institute filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the United States Supreme Court supporting Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corporation in their landmark religious freedom cases against Obama's controversial HHS Mandate. To view a copy of Liberty Institute's brief, follow the link: http://www.libertyinstitute.org/document.doc?id=127

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Scheduled for oral arguments on March 25, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius will determine whether non-tax-exempt faith-based businesses are protected by the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and can operate without fear of governmental control and oversight of their religious exercise. 

"For almost 200 years, corporations have been treated as persons able to assert rights under the Constitution and statutory law," said Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of the Liberty Institute.  "The government should not be able to coerce faith-based organizations to violate their religious beliefs. The Court should hold that all faith-based organizations, regardless of their status under the tax code, are entitled to assert both the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in opposing regulations enacted under the HHS Mandate that violate the organizations' religious beliefs."

In Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, the U.S. Supreme Court will address the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of individuals to operate their businesses without violating their faith. The Supreme Court agreed to take up this appeal in November and will review whether the Green and Hahn families should be required to provide and pay for life-terminating drugs and devices against their religious beliefs.

Liberty Institute is a national nonprofit legal group dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty across America — in our schools, for our churches, inside our military and throughout the public arena. Liberty's vision is to reestablish religious liberty in accordance with the principles of our Founding Fathers. For information, visit www.LibertyInstitute.org.

SOURCE Liberty Institute