AG gloats over Hobby Lobby ruling

In language more suited to the pulpit or a tea party rally, than emanating from an Attorney General’s office, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt praised today’s Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case, saying it was a “pivotal victory for religious liberty in America.”

In fact, the court, if it followed its own precedent in the peyote case in the 90s, would have had to rule against the Green family. In that instance, they ruled that the government could ban the use of peyote, even though it was a part of a religious observance.

But instead, they appear to give corporations a right that they have refused to give to individuals.

Although the decision is narrowly drawn (see http://www.gayly.com/justices-some-corporations-can-claim-religious-objection) it is a major strike against the separation of church and state, which is also part of the First Amendment’s religious rights.

I, for one (and there are millions who agree with me), believe that corporations are not people, and that they cannot have a religious opinion. So far as I am concerned, if you are a for-profit business, and are incorporated, your religious beliefs have no place in the operation of your business.

This is a slippery slope.

Here is Pruitt’s press release:

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a pivotal victory for religious liberty. This ruling reaffirms the principle that America is a nation that recognizes first among our unalienable rights is the right to freely exercise our faith. I am thankful the Green family courageously stood up for their beliefs in the face of severe penalty from the federal government. I am humbled to have supported the Green family throughout this arduous process and congratulate them on today’s victory,” Attorney General Pruitt said.

“The founders understood our freedoms emanate from our Creator and not our government, and therefore cannot be curtailed or managed by government. The founders established a Constitution to protect Americans’ religious freedom from an intrusive federal government. Today’s ruling solidifies the principle that our religion is not a silent practice confined to the four walls of a church, but it is an opportunity to live out our faith in the public square,” Attorney General Pruitt said.

“The state of Oklahoma supported Hobby Lobby during each stage of this lawsuit, filing friend of the court briefs supporting the Green family’s challenge of the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act. Click here to read Oklahoma’s brief filed at the Supreme Court supporting Hobby Lobby. Click here to read the Supreme Court's opinion, which cites and quotes Oklahoma's amicus brief (page 25).

Opinion by Rob Howard, Political Columnist

The Gayly – June 30, 2014 @ 12:40pm