Montana Rallies: Helena, Billings, and Glasgow
Posted by ErinThielman (June 13, 2012 at 7:30 pm)
Helena, Billings, and Glasgow, Montana drew 243 participants in the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally that took place on June 8 as part of a nationwide effort.
The rallies across Montana took place at federal office: the U.S. Post Office in Glasgow, the Federal Courthouse in Billings, and Senator Max Baucus’ office in Helena. The federal locations were chosen as this is a federal issue.
Speakers at the Montana rallies included Moe Wosepka, the Executive Director of the Montana Catholic Conference, Jeff Laszloffy, Executive Director of the Montana Family Foundation, priests and pastors.
The rallies took place in 164 cities across the United States. The Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally was organized by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a ProLife Society as a protest to the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) and the Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate.
The HHS Mandate requires all employers to provide health plans that provide free sterilizations, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraceptives. Employers such as Christian schools and organizations are required to comply with the mandate and do not meet the government’s religious exemption.
The government is attempting to define what constitutes a religious formality in order for religious organizations to qualify for religious exemption. Unfortunately, it has determined that those organizations which educate the young and care for the sick do not meet their religious standards.
The government’s definition of religious exemption and the requirement for Christian organizations to offer health plans that will provide birth control and abortions is what denies Americans their First Amendment right, which includes Religious Freedom.
The date of the nationwide rally coincided with the 223rd anniversary of James Madison‘s first introduction of the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment, to the First Congress.
The nationwide rally attracted over 57,000 people standing up for their First Amendment rights and comes just weeks before an expected decision from the U.S. Supreme Court as to whether or not the HHS mandate is constitutional.