STAND UP FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
HHS Mandate News and Rally Updates

Over 100 Cities to Rally against HHS Mandate June 8

Posted by John Jansen (May 3, 2012 at 4:08 pm)

Rally CitiesThe next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally is still more than a month away, and today our list of cities taking part just reached 101!

The number of cities already on board for June 8 shows that the massive turnout seen at the first Nationwide Rally on March 23 was hardly a one-time phenomenon.

Opposition among the American people to the HHS Mandate’s assault on religious freedom is intense—and getting stronger!

From Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon and all the way out to Honolulu, Hawaii the American people are sending a message that we will not stand idly by while the federal government forces all employer health plans to provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of any moral or religious objections.

Check out the Locations Page to see all the cities taking part and find a Rally near you.

Don’t see one in your area? Organize one!

You can find out what it takes to be a local Rally Captain here.

Posted in Rally Locations | 1 Comment »

Mere Dozens Protest the “War on Women”

Posted by Matt Yonke (May 1, 2012 at 2:48 pm)

Unite Women Rally and Stand Up RallyOn Saturday, rallies were held to “Unite Against the War on Women”, a pretty obvious response to the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally campaign.

As the picture indicates, the response was paltry. Even in New York City, where thousands gathered on March 23 in defense of religious freedom, only a few hundred showed up to protest.

They may have had a few B-list celebrity speakers, but they were pitching their muddled message to largely empty audiences. Outside of some talk about the so-called “war on women”, their message was as scattered as could be. [Continue reading …]

Posted in News and Commentary | 6 Comments »

Get Your “Protect Our Religious Freedom” Armband

Posted by Matt Yonke (May 1, 2012 at 2:47 pm)

armbandThe Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has designed these great “Protect Our Religious Freedom” armbands that would make a great addition to any Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally—or just to your wardrobe.

These armbands area great way to tell the world you’re not going to stand idly by while our government takes away our fundamental rights and they’re sure to be a conversation starter.

Order yours today at AMAC’s website.

armband

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Sebelius Didn’t Do Her Homework When Drafting HHS Mandate

Posted by John Jansen (April 27, 2012 at 2:41 pm)

SebeliusHealth and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made some rather candid admissions at an April 26 Congressional hearing.

Before she promulgated the HHS Mandate, did she consult Supreme Court decisions regarding religious liberty?

No.

Did she have a legal memo prepared?

Again, no.

Check out the exchange between Sebelius and Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) at yesterday’s hearing:

Tags: , , . Posted in News and Commentary | 4 Comments »

Rallies against the So-Called “War on Women” to be Held Saturday

Posted by John Jansen (April 26, 2012 at 7:46 am)

NOW: Stop the War on Unborn WomenThis Saturday, April 28, a coalition of pro-choice groups are sponsoring “Unite Against the War on Women” rallies at several cities across the country.

Among the sponsors are the National Organization for Women, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and a group called “Rock the Slut Vote” — not to be confused with a group called “This Slut Votes,” which is also a sponsor.

The UniteWomen.org “About Us” page informs us that the idea for the rallies originated February 19 — a mere nine days after the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society announced that the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom in opposition to the HHS Mandate would be held on March 23.

Coincidence?

Who’s Telling Who to “Teach Science”?

The UniteWomen.org website is nothing if not a panoply of the bizarre.

If you go to the homepage, the first thing you’ll notice is a series of rotating pictures, one of which is: [Continue reading …]

Tags: , , , , , . Posted in News and Commentary | 9 Comments »

New Video on the HHS Mandate: “Stop Government Interference with Religion”

Posted by John Jansen (April 25, 2012 at 1:54 pm)

The Newman Club Newark has a great new video making the case for why the HHS Mandate has got to go.

Notice the clear, simple message on the students’ T-shirts at the 2:03 mark: “Stop government interference with religion.” That gets the point across.

Check it out!

Posted in News and Commentary | 5 Comments »

Notre Dame Faculty Cabal Calls on Bishop Jenky to Step Down from Board

Posted by John Jansen (April 23, 2012 at 4:42 pm)

Bishop Daniel JenkyIn response to the stunningly powerful homily recently given by Bishop Daniel Jenky, CSC in which he excoriated President Obama’s “radical, pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda,” some faculty members of the University of Notre Dame are calling on him to step down from the University’s Board of Fellows.

Why?

Because in his homily, Bishop Jenky said the following:

Remember that in past history other governments have tried to force Christians to huddle and hide only within the confines of their churches like the first disciples locked up in the Upper Room.

In the late 19th century, Bismarck waged his “Kulturkampf,” a Culture War, against the Roman Catholic Church, closing down every Catholic school and hospital, convent and monastery in Imperial Germany.

Clemenceau, nicknamed “the priest eater,” tried the same thing in France in the first decade of the 20th Century. [Continue reading …]

Tags: , . Posted in News and Commentary | 31 Comments »

Bishop Jenky Pulls No Punches in Powerful Homily

Posted by John Jansen (April 19, 2012 at 2:38 pm)

Bishop Daniel JenkyBishop Daniel Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria gave a stunningly powerful homily this weekend in which he excoriated President Obama’s “radical, pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda.”

Celebrating Mass at a men’s conference entitled “A Call to Catholic Men of Faith,” Bishop Jenky spoke in his homily about the ever-present difficulties of being a Christian, and noted:

[It]’s not supposed to be easy! The world, the flesh, and the devil will always love their own, and will always hate us. As Jesus once predicted, they hated me, they will certainly hate you. …

For 2,000 years the enemies of Christ have certainly tried their best. But think about it. The Church survived and even flourished during centuries of terrible persecution, during the days of the Roman Empire.

The Church survived barbarian invasions. The Church survived wave after wave of Jihads. The Church survived the age of revolution. The Church survived Nazism and Communism.

And in the power of the resurrection, the Church will survive the hatred of Hollywood, the malice of the media, and the mendacious wickedness of the abortion industry.

The Church will survive the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, and even the calculated disdain of the President of the United States, his appointed bureaucrats in HHS, and of the current majority of the federal Senate. [Continue reading …]

Tags: , . Posted in News and Commentary | 10 Comments »

WHAT: The Next Rally for Religious Freedom
WHEN: June 8 at Noon Local Time
WHERE: Your Home Town!

Posted by Eric Scheidler (April 14, 2012 at 11:00 am)

Stand Up for Religious Freedom | Nationwide | June 8, 2012It’s with great excitement that Monica Miller and I announce that the next Stand Up for Religious Freedom will take place Friday, June 8 at noon local time, coast to coast.

The huge controversy over Barack Obama’s HHS Mandate is growing, and it’s time to take the next step to stop this attack on religious freedom.

Last month, over 63,000 Americans gathered at sites in 145 cities for a massive rally in protest of the Mandate.

They said NO to the HHS Mandate, which forces employers—including religious charities—to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in their health plans, for free.

June 8 date prepares the ground for the Obamacare ruling

Now it’s time to build on that great momentum with the next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally, and June 8 is the perfect date.

Right now the entire Obamacare law, with its oppressive mandates and abortion loopholes, is under review by the United States Supreme Court. A ruling is coming at the end of June.

If the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare, the June 8 Rally sets the agenda for future health care reform, demanding respect for religious liberty and freedom of conscience.

But if the Court leaves Obamacare intact, the June 8 Rally advances our demand that the HHS Mandate must go.

Defend the First Amendment on June 8!

Come out on June 8—which happens to be the 223rd anniversary of the day James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights in Congress—and help prepare the ground for the Obamacare ruling!

Last month’s Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally hit the “reset” button on the HHS Mandate controversy, putting the focus where it belongs: respect for religious freedom.

On June 8, people of faith will hit the streets again to demand that all our health care laws respect the role of religious faith in the public square.

Captains are signing on now for the June 8 Rally

Over the next week, the Rally Captains for the March 23 event will be letting the national team know whether they’re in for the June 8 Rally. Dozens have already signed on.

On Friday, April 20, Monica and I will be putting out the call for new Rally Captains in the cities where rallies were hosted last month.

If your city wasn’t on the Rally map last time around and you want to host a rally this time, just get in touch with the national team and we’ll get things started.

Posted in News and Commentary | 10 Comments »

US Bishops Call for Summer “Fortnight for Freedom”

Posted by Matt Yonke (April 13, 2012 at 4:07 pm)

CrozierWith the release of a new document entitled, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has upped the ante in the fight to protect religious freedom.

The document, issued in the throes of Obamacare’s examination by the US Supreme court, opens with a history of the Catholic Church and religion in general in American history. Our nation’s history of great respect for freedom of religion makes the current crisis all the more poignant.

The bishops then go on to outline several of the major threats facing religious freedom today: the HHS Mandate and Obamacare’s lack of conscience protections, governments threatening to regulate and dictate Church structures and governments, discrimination against Christian students and small churches, and the shuttering of Catholic adoption and foster care services in several states just to name a few.

All the Energies the Catholic Community Can Muster

What should Christians’ response to this unprecedented assault on religious freedom be? [Continue reading …]

Posted in News and Commentary | 20 Comments »