Letter: Affordable care mandate is a threat
Thursday, June 7, 2012
On June 8 at noon in the Longview Civic Center, people of all faiths will gather at "The Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally" to express opposition to President Obama's Department of Health and Human Services mandate regarding insurance coverage for all FDA-approved prescription contraceptives.
In America, religious freedom is a fundamental First Amendment right. This right does not depend on any government's decision to grant it. It is God-given, and just societies recognize and respect its free exercise. The free exercise of religion extends well beyond the freedom of worship. It also prohibits government from forcing people or groups to violate their most deeply held religious convictions, and from interfering in the internal affairs of religious organizations.
President Obama is attempting to reduce this free exercise to a "privilege" arbitrarily granted by the government where government decides which of our ministries is "religious enough" to warrant religious freedom protection. The HHS mandate is not just a threat against Catholics. It's a threat to all. It's time to take a stand.
Lynette Shero
Longview
