Washington D.C., Feb 22, 2013 / 00:03 am
Nearly a dozen U.S. lawmakers who supported a 1993 law protecting religious liberty have formally defended Hobby Lobby in its recent religious freedom lawsuit.
"Congress has commanded equal treatment of all under a religion-protective rule. Defendants may not pick and choose whose exercise of religion is protected and whose is not," said the "friend-of-the-court" brief filed on behalf of nine U.S. Senators and two members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The brief was filed in support of Hobby Lobby, a privately-owned chain of craft stores founded in Oklahoma in 1972.
Hobby Lobby's founder and CEO, David Green, has said that he and his family are devoted Christians who seek to operate their stores "in a manner consistent with Biblical principles." The company makes significant charitable donations and closes all of its stores on Sundays for employees to worship and rest with their families.