[CS-FSLUG] OT: HOBBY LOBBY MAY CLOSE ITS DOORS - A MUST read!

[Fred A. Miller]

Micah 6:8..."to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with
your God."

Letter from Hobby Lobby Stores CEO

By David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working
out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture
frames. Our first retail store wasn't much bigger than most people's
living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and
worked according to God's word. From there, Hobby Lobby has become one
of the nation's largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500
locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine
business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.

We're Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles.
I've always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to
run our business in harmony with God's laws, and (2) to focus on people
more than money. And that's what we've tried to do. We close early so
our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores
closed on Sundays, one of the week's biggest shopping days, so that our
workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it
is by God's grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us
and our employees. We've not only added jobs in a weak economy, we've
raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees
start at 80% above minimum wage.

But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new
government healthcare mandate says that  our family business MUST
provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health
insurance. Being Christians, we don't pay for drugs that might cause
abortions, which means that we don't cover emergency contraception, the
morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might
end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary
to our most important beliefs.  It goes against the Biblical principles
on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply,
we could face $1.3 million PER
DAY in fines.

Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy.  Our
government threatens to fine a company that's raised wages four years
running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running
its business according to its beliefs. It's not right. I know people
will say we ought to follow the rules; that it's  the same for
everybody. But that's not true. The government has exempted thousands
of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But
it won't exempt them for reasons of religious belief.

So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice. With great
reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund
for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate
before it hurts our business. We don't like to go running into court,
but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important
than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than
turning a profit.

My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing
our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but
the government is going to make that much more difficult.
The government is forcing us  to choose between following our faith and
following the law. I say that's a choice no American and no American
business should have to make. The government cannot force you to follow
laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have
exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian
organizations including the Catholic church.

Since you will not see this covered in any of the liberal media, pass
this on to all your contacts.

Sincerely,
David Green, CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

-- 
"But sometimes, random and meaningless acts of violence are committed by 
mean-spirited men for whom the only cure is a dose of .45 caliber lead.

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