Among other things, AUL notes that Chief Justice John Roberts’ siding with the majority in the case may not be as pernicious as many conservatives are seeing it to be.
They note that the ruling holds that the individual mandate that all Americans must carry health insurance is valid as a tax, but not within Congress’s power to regulate under the Commerce Clause. This actually may leave us in an even better position to fight the law through the electoral process. [Continue reading …]
Stand Up Rally Co-Director Eric Scheidler had this to say about the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act today:
I would have loved for the Supreme Court to have put the HHS Mandate controversy to rest by overturning the entire Obamacare law today. But that would have been the easy way out.
Today’s ruling means that the grassroots protests of the HHS Mandate will continue. The more than 200 local leaders raised up all across the country to hold Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies this spring are ready to continue this fight.
We remain convinced that the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional, and that the Supreme Court will strike it down when the scores of lawsuits filed against it finally reach the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, we will continue to fight the HHS Mandate through massive public protest and seek the kind of electoral change that will restore freedom of religion in our nation.
Stay tuned to this site for the latest news about the grassroots fight to stop the HHS Mandate.
Posted by Kristen Hayes-Yearick (June 27, 2012 at 11:12 am)
More than 100 men, women and children stood together in front of the Federal Building on West 3rd street on June 8th to defend our fundamental right to Religious Freedom.
When Williamsport held its first rally in March, leaders Kristen Hayes and Sarah Reid knew a second rally would be inevitable if Health and Human Services did not rescind the mandate. [Continue reading …]
Posted in June 8 Rally Report | Comments Off on Photos from Williamsport, Pennsylvania’s Stand up for Religious Freedom Rally
Police at Dayton’s Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally Friday seem to have violated one clause of the First Amendment while protesters were rallying about another.
After the rally began, campus police told the approximately 400 attendees they had to put their signs on the ground. Nothing like it happened at any of the other 160-some noon rallies at cities around the country.
Bryan Kemper, one of the rally’s speakers, says he’s never seen anything like it. Now Youth Outreach Coordinator for Priests for Life, Kemper has had a long career in pro-life work with teens and young adults. The founder both Rock for Life and Stand True Pro-Life Outreach, he has spoken at rallies and events around the country for more than a decade. “This is a first,” he says. [Continue reading …]
Posted by Jenifer Bowen (June 21, 2012 at 5:06 pm)
The Des Moines rally was attended by 200+ who enthusiastically responded to the line up of speakers.
Jenifer Bowen, Executive Director of Iowa Right To Life, kicked off the rally by reading a support statement from both Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds (attached), who could not attend the rally in person that day.
Msgr. Frank Bognanno from Christ the King Church in Des Moines, read a statement from Bishop Richard Pates of the Des Moines Diocese, who invited everyone to the Fortnight of Freedom event taking place on Sunday, July 1st about this same issue.
Monsignor Bognanno stated, “Some people say this is an issue that should be between a woman and her doctor. That’s not true. It’s between the woman and the doctor and the one who has to pay. If this mandate goes through, I think it will eventually include abortions. We need to make a stand right now.” [Continue reading …]
Posted by Phillip Nachazel (June 21, 2012 at 3:50 pm)
Hundreds of people showed up at the Open Space in Traverse City Friday to protest the HHS Mandate. People of all faiths stood in solidarity with those in over 160 cities nationwide to proclaim their right to religious freedom. A spirit of comraderie, enthusiasm, and purpose marked the event. There were signs, patriotic songs, prayers, and speeches.
Pastor Paul Silbor of Honor Congregational Church said, “To be silent is to be complicit” and “without our voice all that child in the womb has is a silent cry.” Bishop Bernard Hebda said in his remarks, “It isn’t up to the government to decide which of our activities are religious or not,” and “We serve because we are Catholic, not because those in need are Catholic.” [Continue reading …]
The day before the HHS Mandate was issued on January 20, Pope Benedict XVI warned U.S. Bishops that “radical secularism” poses grave threats to the “right of conscientious objection … to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices”.
Since then, the U.S. Bishops have been steadfastly outspoken against the HHS Mandate’s assault on religious freedom, and their leadership and messaging has been widely praised by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
As part of their response to the HHS Mandate, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has called for a Fortnight for Freedom—a time of prayer, education and action on religious freedom starting today, June 21 to July 4.
We wholeheartedly support the Fortnight for Freedom, and we encourage you to take part.
You can find out more about the Fortnight and view the bishops’ educational resources on religious freedom here, and you can get more information on specific events in your diocese here.
Posted by Nicole Collins (June 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm)
In Delaware, the first state in the Union, over 250 rallied for Religious Freedom in Wilmington, the state’s capital. Check out these pictures to see what happened:
Nicole Collins, President of Delaware Right to Life
Posted by Jason Schmidt (June 21, 2012 at 9:32 am)
A torrential downpour couldn’t keep 300 Oregonians and Southwest Washingtonians away from the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally on June 8, 2012 in Terry Schrunk Plaza in Portland, Oregon. 100 more viewed the rally remotely on a Ustream channel. This was the second Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally in Oregon, with the first on March 23.
Amid umbrellas, raincoats, and waterproof boots, the rally began without a hitch and everyone was called to attention with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
Pastor Stephen Williams of Prepare the Way Ministries kicked things off and shouts from among the crowd of “Amen!” could be heard as he preached about our Biblical right to religious freedom. Jim Greenfield, of the Jim Greenfield Show, got the crowd going even more with his wit and Constitutional knowledge. [Continue reading …]
Americans United for Life (AUL) has provided this excellent, easy to understand analysis of yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act [PDF].
Stand Up Rally Co-Director Eric Scheidler had this to say about the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act today:
More than 100 men, women and children stood together in front of the Federal Building on West 3rd street on June 8th to defend our fundamental right to Religious Freedom.
The day before the HHS Mandate was issued on January 20, Pope Benedict XVI 
