Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Hobby Lobby Ruling a Very Slippery Slope



Anyone who thinks the decision made by the Supreme Court regarding Hobby Lobby's right to deny coverage of birth control for women would greatly benefit from thinking again. Let's not forget this is the same company who stood with the group who was AGAINST gay equality only a year or so ago.

Allowing a company to deny rights because of religious beliefs opens up all kinds of ugly possibilities. For instance:

1. Hobby Lobby has already shown they don't much care for gays. Are they going to deny gay spouses insurance? How about gay employees? What about other business owners who belong to some "religion" that is bigoted against gays?

2. It doesn't stop there. Christianity isn't the only religion in town. How about a business owned by a person or people who follow a religion that treats women as 2nd class citizens, or worse? Can they deny women work because they believe they should stay home? Can they tell them they have to cover their whole body except for the eyes or be fired? If not, why not? Isn't this the same thing?

3. How about a company owned by a Jehovah Witness? Can they refuse to cover blood transfusions?

4. My mother was a Christian Scientist, although not a very faithful one. You see, she took me to the doctor. That's frowned upon. She was even shamed at church for wearing eyeglasses. The reason? If she had enough faith, her eyes would be perfect. So, what if a business is owned by a group of Christian Scientists? Can they deny health care completely? After all, they don't believe in it. Prayer and faith cures all.

This, friends, is why it is so very important to vote for more than just president. The people you elect as congress men and women decide who sits on the Supreme Court! Do you really want it ruled by narrow-minded bigots who think religion trumps human rights?

This ruling is a travesty. Even worse, it's the fault of the voting people. If you don't start being involved, don't start understanding that voting for people with open minds is the only way to ensure that someday it's not YOU discriminated against, then we lose the battle. 

Some of these right extremists try to convince us they are on the side of the constitution. Don't let them fool you. The constitution was written to protect all Americans, not just some who believe in the religion these nutcases deem as right and all powerful, even in the case of government.

You can hide your head in the sand and say, "It doesn't matter who I vote for. They're all the same." and lose your rights, or you can educate yourself and make a difference. The clock is running. Today it was women's birth control. Tomorrow, for any obscure reason, it might be you.

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.
To find out about her novels visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE
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Author Email: caddyauthor@gmail.com

Twitter: @caddyorpims

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