Monday's Supreme Court ruling that the Hobby Lobby crafts store chain does not have to provide all forms of birth control for its employees marks the first time the high court has said some businesses can hold religious views under federal law, in cases where there is essentially no difference between the business and its owners.
All sorts of issues flow from this decision. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and three other justices, sharply disagreeing with the five conservatives on the court, wrote:
In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs.
Here are a few issues that I see as central to the First Amendment:
- David and Barbara Green, in communications to their employees, call them "family." These thousands of people, diverse in backgrounds and beliefs, are not their family. A nice metaphor, but the word presumes a patriarchal and matriarchal role of being domineering in making personal health decisions for employees, particularly in regard to women and inconsequential sex.
Now, I happen to be a Christian, although not of the same branch as the Hobby Lobby owners. I treasure the Constitution. I, a progressive -- a liberal -- on this issue could certainly be considered a strict constitutionalist. I hold to the First Amendment. That means institutional separation of church and state. And it certainly means separation of commercial enterprises from another person's beliefs. The First Amendment insures freedom from religious domination, particularly by the powerful over the less powerful, freedom from having decisions of life and belief and health determined by someone else.
Sincerely, The free exercise of religion is for the worker as well as the boss!
Fifty years ago the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson just a few hours after House approval on July 2, 1964. Yes, there are some connections here. We still have challenges!