Tag Archives: State: Colorado

NY Times: The Alliance Defending Freedom — like Becket, a conservative group — has brought a case on behalf of Hercules Industries, a company in Denver that makes sheet metal products. It was granted an injunction by a judge in Colorado who said the religious values of the family owners were infringed by the law. “Two-thirds of the cases have had injunctions against Obamacare, and most are headed to courts of appeals,” said Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel for the alliance. “It is clear that a substantial number of these cases will vindicate religious freedom over Obamacare. But it seems likely that the Supreme Court will ultimately resolve the dispute.”

Denver Post: The testimony came from Kellie Fiedorek, litigation counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Washington, D.C., office. The non-profit advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith. Fiedorek was the first of 15 witnesses to testify against Senate Bill 11, which grants same-sex couples in civil unions most but not all of the benefits, protections and responsibilities of couples in traditional marriages. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill on a party-line vote. Here are her prepared remarks . . .

KFDM.com: The arguments were made in papers Englewood-based Catholic Health Initiatives filed in 2010 to persuade a judge to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City. They appeared to contradict the church’s centuries-old stance that life begins at conception.

One News Now: “The government cannot limit constitutionally protected religious liberties in a way that’s foreign to our Constitution,” she contends. “The bill … fails to ensure that those liberties will be respected for all Colorado citizens. Look, the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom — it applies to every American. It is not limited or confined to the four walls of a church.”

Religion Clause Blog: A trial court and the state court of appeals so far has accepted the hospital’s defense is that the fetuses are not persons under the wrongful death statute.

Denver Post: Kellie Fiedorek with the Alliance Defending Freedom said the bill “fails to provide significant safeguards for the religious liberties of all Coloradans.”

On Topic Magazine: Christian conservative groups which oppose the measure, such as the Alliance Defending Freedom and CitizenLink, the political arm of Focus on the Family, said the measure threatened religious freedom.

Daily Caller: Many of those opposed to the bill said that it discriminated against those who are opposed to same-sex civil unions for religious reasons, with an attorney for the conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom equating it to “religious intolerance.”

Daily Camera (includes video): Kellie Fiedorek with the Alliance Defending Freedom said the bill “fails to provide significant safeguards for the religious liberties of all Coloradans.”

Times Union (AP): Attorney Kellie Fiedorek, with Alliance Defending Freedom, which opposes the measure, said she’s concerned that the legislation violates people’s religious beliefs. She cited as an example a photographer in New Mexico who refused to shoot a same-sex wedding because of her beliefs and was later sued. “It’s important to note that it’s not a belief about homosexual behavior, it’s a belief that marriage is between one man and one woman and should be protected and strengthened by society, not undermined. Yet where these laws are enacted, people of faith are being persecuted, often forced to suffer economic loss.”

iance Defending Freedom Litigation Counsel Kellie Fiedorek will testify Wednesday on the lack of safeguards for religious freedom in a Colorado bill (SB 13-011) that proposes to create “civil unions.”

Denver Post: Senate Bill 11is scheduled to be heard Wednesday afternoon by the Senate Judiciary Committee, starting at 1:30 p.m. The bill allows gay couples to form civil unions, and sets forth the rights, responsibilities and requirements of those entering a civil union.

LifeNews: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” says ADF lead counsel Matt Bowman. Bowman told LifeNews: “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way. In appealing the district court’s order that halted the mandate against Hercules, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

KWGN.com: Among a slew of new bills introduced in the state senate Wednesday is a measure from senate Republicans that seeks to ban abortion for purposes of gender selection.

Christian Post: Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish. Regrettably, the administration does not want religious freedom to stand in the way of imposing ObamaCare,” Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman commented in an email to The Christian Post.

KWGN.com: Among a slew of new bills introduced in the state senate Wednesday is a measure from senate Republicans that seeks to ban abortion for purposes of gender selection.

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman emailed LifeNews regarding the decision of the Obama administration Tuesday to continue trying to force the Bible publisher to act contrary to its religious beliefs in Tyndale House Publishers v. Sebelius: “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish. Regrettably, the administration does not want religious freedom to stand in the way of imposing ObamaCare. The district court rightly halted ObamaCare’s abortion pill mandate against Tyndale House, but the administration continues to argue that a Bible publisher isn’t religious enough to qualify as a religious employer. For the government to say that a Bible publisher isn’t religious is startling. We will continue to argue on appeal that the administration cannot disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes.”

Bloomberg: Tyndale argues the law violates the religious freedoms of the company and its owners, “who are committed to biblical principles including the belief that all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God from the moment of their conception.” “It’s disturbing that the government would appeal in order to argue that a Bible publisher is not religious,” Matthew Bowman, a lawyer from Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Tyndale and other businesses challenging the health care law.

Business Week: “It’s disturbing that the government would appeal in order to argue that a Bible publisher is not religious,” Matthew Bowman, a lawyer from Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Tyndale and other businesses challenging the health care law.

One News Now: Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, says the government should not force Tyndale House Publishers to violate its Christian beliefs — and that it should be eligible for a religious exemption from providing contraceptives it believes cause abortion. “What [the administration is] doing in this appeal is they are arguing that Bible publishers are not even free to do business according to the book that they publish,” says the attorney. “The administration is arguing that a Bible publisher isn’t even religious enough to qualify as a religious employer.” [more]

“For the government to say that a Bible publisher isn’t religious is startling. We will continue to argue on appeal that the administration cannot disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes.”

Alan Sears at the Human Life International Truth and Charity Forum: The 19th century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky once wisely said, “If God does not exist, then everything is permitted.” Christians continue to wage a political and legal battle against a predominantly secular culture about the law and the meaning of life—both increasingly corrupted by what Blessed Pope John Paul II coined a “culture of death.”

LifeNews: County commissioners in Garfield County, Colorado voted 2-1 yesterday to cut $5,000 in funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

Matt Bowman appeared on Relevant Radio with Shiela Liaugminas to discuss the HHS litigation. | MP3 audio 11:41 mins

Religion Clause Blog: he Colorado Springs Gazette reports that on Tuesday, an El Paso County, Colorado state court jury convicted Periz Jackson and Elijah Black on animal cruelty charges for the confined and unsanitary conditions under which they kept a lamb they had purchased to sacrifice on Passover. Prosecutors charged defendants . . .

Politico: Advocates have identified Oregon, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, Colorado, Hawaii and New Jersey as states where they believe that as early as 2014 they’ll see gay marriage legalized through ballot measures, court decisions or state legislative action.

Religion Clause Blog: In Ross v. Colorado Department of Transportation, (D CO, Nov. 14, 2012), a Colorado federal district court dismissed a Christian employee’s Title VII claims for hostile work environment, failure to accommodate, discrimination, and retaliation. Plaintiff complained that his religious rights were infringed when a staff appreciation luncheon was rescheduled so that it would not take place during Ramadan, and when unit employees were invited by e-mail to have bagels and cream cheese in the cafeteria to mark the end of Ramadan

KDVR.com (includes video): Colorado House Democrats Thursday elected Rep. Mark Ferrandino to be the new Speaker of the House come January — the first time in state history that a gay lawmaker will preside over a legislative chamber.

KDVR.com: According to the Boulder Daily Camera, those voters have been welcomed by a sea of tiny white crosses. Above them, an inscription: “3,300 Abortions Daily in the USA.”

Bill Newland & Mike Norton on Catholic Answers Live to discuss the Newland case. | MP3 audio 23:37 mins

San Francisco Chronicle: An anti-abortion proposal to ban the procedure in all circumstances isn’t on Colorado ballots this year — but the divisive measure is still playing a big role in the state’s political campaigns.

Colorado Statesman: Former U.S. attorney Norton called Obama’s health care law the “greatest threat to religious freedom of our time,” citing a provision in the law that birth control be made available to women at no out-of-pocket cost. He said it is not a contraception mandate, but an “abortion pill” requirement. “They must think we’re stupid,” said Norton, who is the husband of former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton. “Who is paying for this coverage? It’s you and me. It doesn’t really matter whether the employer pays it or the insurance companies pay for it…” “What right does the government have to run roughshod over the conscience and religious convictions of every American, including business owners?” he continued. “And what right does the government have to decide what is faith and who are the faithful?”

OutFrontOnline: Colorado has eight out state legislative candidates on the ballot this year – five new faces and three incumbents. Colorado’s other out legislator, Sen. Lucia Guzman, D-Denver, is not up for re-election this year. Two of the candidates, Democratic Sen. Pat Steadman, the incumbent, and Republican Michael Carr, are running against each other. If 7 of the 8 candidates win, Colorado will rank in the 3 most LGBT-inclusive legislatures in the U.S.

CBN (includes video): They just don’t want to have to provide abortion pills and other items in this plan that violate their faith,” Matt Bowman, with Alliance Defending Freedom, said.

Brian Walsh at National Review: Today, a bipartisan group of over 100 legislators in nine states is announcing the nation’s first state legislative caucuses focused solely on religious freedom. These working groups of legislative leaders are being established in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. This is the first installment in a national plan to form state religious-freedom caucuses in all 50 states by the end of 2013.

LJWorld: Claiming religious freedom is under assault, 120 legislators in nine states, including Kansas, announced on Tuesday the formation of caucuses that they said would be dedicated to protecting religion from government intrusion.

Pro Life Blogs: “Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “To say that a Bible publisher is not religious is patently absurd. Tyndale House is a prime example of how ridiculous and arbitrary the Obama administration’s mandate is. Americans today clearly agree with America’s founders: the federal government’s bureaucrats are not qualified to decide what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.”

Christian Post: The City Council of Colorado Springs has stated that they intend to keep their invocation prayers, even as Pueblo City Council agreed to discontinue the practice in response to criticism from an atheist organization

Baptist Press: In filing its appeal, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to make a living,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Matt Bowman. “That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

Fox News: “As such, one might expect Pueblo politicians to ignore the foundation’s threat,” he said. “Instead, they fell over without putting up a fight. We expect a more vigorous defense of our most basic freedoms — religious liberty and free speech.”

NRL News: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.” “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way,” Bowman said. “In filing its appeal today, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

Christian Post: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman said in a statement. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.”

Citizen Link: “The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately had its way,” Bowman said.

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys obtained the first-ever order against the mandate on behalf of Hercules Industries and the Catholic family that owns it. The administration opposed the order, arguing, contrary to the U.S. Constitution, that people of faith forfeit their religious liberty once they engage in business . . . “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The Obama administration claims ‘unwavering’ support for religious freedom, but this appeal demonstrates that the only thing unwavering is the administration’s tenacious opposition to that freedom.”

LifeSiteNews: The cost of religious freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that would cripple their business and potentially destroy jobs if the administration ultimately has its way,” said Matt Bowman, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom. “In filing its appeal today, the administration sent a clear message that it wants to force families to abandon their faith in order to earn a living. That’s the opposite of religious freedom.”

Pueblo Chieftain: City Council has opened its regular public meetings for decades with a prayer — usually delivered by local ministers, sometimes by council members — but always after asking the audience to stand for that moment of divine invocation . . .

9news.com (AP): The switch was made after the city received a letter from the Freedom of Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis., arguing it is unconstitutional

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom tells OneNewsNow, “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith.” “The Obama administration claims it has unwavering support for religious freedom, but the only thing unwavering in the administration is its tenacious opposition to religious freedom,” the attorney asserts.

n contradiction to the Obama administration’s recent claims of “unwavering” support for religious freedom, the president’s lawyers filed an appeal Tuesday of a court order that upheld the religious freedom of a Colorado family business.

Denver Post: The Colorado secretary of state’s office said Tuesday the proposed anti-abortion “personhood” amendment will not be on the 2012 ballot — no matter the outcome of proponents’ planned legal action to prove they collected enough voter signatures.
The ballot certification deadline was Monday.

Archdiocese of Denver: . . . When religious people are marginalized from the public square, all of us lose. Religious values (like those of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for example) have served as forces for great public good in America. Public shame of the religiously convicted undermines the American ideal. Sadly, however, Hercules is not alone in being marginalized; religious institutions and practices face increasing threats in America. Last week, the Washington, D.C.-based Liberty Institute released a survey of religious hostility in America, documenting hundreds of unreasonable persecutions of religious Americans. It is a chilling read . . . When religious conscience threatens essential human freedom or dignity, governments have a vested interest in protecting public welfare. But the law which Hercules is fighting is not an assertion of essential human freedom or dignity. The HHS mandate is designed to fund private sexual expression—and even abortion—from the coffers of American businesses. Trading free access to contraception for our foundational reverence for religious liberty is a betrayal of our history—and a short-sighted plan for America. House Speaker Frank McNulty took up the mantle of Hercules’ cause, and rightly commended them for their work. I pray the Denver City Council will do the same. Choosing to marginalize the owners of Hercules for their religiosity is an insult to the founding values of our nation.

Alan Sears appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss various cases and issues including Newland v. Sebelius. | MP3 audio 7:12 mins

Andy Newland at the Washington Times: With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, we asked for an injunction that would block enforcement of the mandate while our lawsuit proceeds. A federal judge granted that injunction — the first legal victory of its kind against the abortion-pill mandate — and it was at that point, interestingly, that Denver city officials decided a proclamation honoring our company was no longer in order.

Human Events: Hercules Industries of Denver, Colorado is a successful 50-year-old heating and air-conditioning company, which was due to receive a Good Citizenship Award from the city for their many contributions to the community. The generous health care plan offered to their 265 employees, which a Denver Post editorial noted includes “premium benefits for pregnancy, women’s wellness and risk reduction,” was also cited in the proposed award. But Hercules Industries is owned by a Catholic family, the Newlands. They objected to ObamaCare’s outrageous imposition on their religious liberty.

Mike Shedlock at Townhall: Three members of the Douglas County School Board have floated proposals to terminate dealings with teacher’s unions.

Engage Family Minute: The American Dream has promised that we are given the freedom to pursue happiness. Many have realized that dream through the growth of their small business. But, what if the government says that you can only pursue the American Dream if that dream is entirely secular? As Senior Counsel to the Alliance Defending Freedom and former U.S. Attorney, Mike Norton, points out, for one Colorado small business owner, the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., “Obamacare”) has done just that.

Fox News Insider (includes video): Greg Baylor, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, said, “We can all agree that politicians shouldn’t use someone’s faith or their stand for freedom to deny them recognition for the good service that they’ve provided to their community.

Denver Post Editorial: A proclamation honoring a 50-year-old Denver business was pulled by its sponsor last week after she learned that the company opposed a provision of federal health reform requiring insurance coverage to include no-cost access to contraception and other preventive care.
In scuttling the proclamation, Denver city councilwoman Robin Kniech noted that it’s “silly season,” meaning that political disagreements are amplified in anticipation of the November election. In our view, her decision only makes things sillier.

Michael Norton at the Denver Post: Re: “Finding middle ground on contraception coverage,” Aug. 5 editorial. The Post’s editorial incorrectly concluded that “a suitable compromise” to a court order prohibiting enforcement of Obamacare and its abortion pill mandate against Hercules Industries would be to require Hercules’ insurance company to provide such abortion pill coverage.

Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: His explanation to his puzzled friend is that Liddell’s commitment as a runner is an extension of who he is and what he believes; the attempt to sever him from the source of his greatness was both foolish and morally wrong. That’s an important lesson many on the left fail to learn as they blithely cast aside religious liberty and rights of conscience for others

Greg Baylor appeared on the Drew Mariana Show to discuss the Newland litigation. | MP3 audio 11:23 mins

Citizen Link: “It’s sad when the very values that drive a family to serve others are used to try to disgrace them,” said Matt Bowman, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the family in its lawsuit. “The city council saw this family’s contributions, but then said ‘no honors for you’ because Hercules’ leaders took a principled stand for freedom of religion and conscience. That makes the Newlands more worthy of respect, not less so.”

Alan Sears at the Daily Caller: Not long ago, Denver officials announced their intention to honor 50 years of distinguished service to their community by Hercules Industries, a national HVAC manufacturing company based in the city, with a proclamation citing, among other things:

The city and county of Denver proposed and drafted a proclamation honoring the 50th anniversary of Hercules Industries, the family business that sued the Obama administration over its abortion pill mandate, but rescinded the honor after the company won a court order in its lawsuit, which attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom are litigating.

Nathan Cherry at the Engage Family Blog: Did you know that you as an individual are not protected by the Religious Freedom clause of the First Amendment? Yeah, in other words, your church services on Sunday and all actions taking place there are protected and the government cannot interfere with them. But, your rights stop the moment you leave the church and enter the “secular” world and workplace. Did you know that?

WorldNetDaily: Regarding the Denver case, Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defending Freedom represents Hercules Industries, and said the government mandate on contraception is blatantly unconstitutional, and he expects the case to be watched very closely by the Catholic Church and other challengers to the mandate. “This case does not involve stopping anybody from doing anything in terms of employees,” Bowman told WND. “What it involves is using Obamacare to impose mandates on families who are just wanting to earn a living, forcing them to violate their faith and to facilitate things that violate their faith simply because they’re Americans who want to have a business and follow their religious values.”

Alan Sears at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: “The cost of freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that will cripple their business if the Obama administration ultimately has its way,” he adds. Americans don’t want politicians and bureaucrats deciding what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.” Clearly, the danger here is not just to one family business in Colorado – but to you, your family, and countless family business owners and employees throughout the U.S. Please be in special prayer for this crucial case and for our lawyers as they pursue this matter – and other pressing cases – in the courtrooms of America.

Wesley J. Smith at First Things: Do entrepreneurs sacrifice their religious liberties merely by seeking a profit? That question would have stunned our Founding Fathers, most of whom were businessmen as well as statesmen.

National Review: Last Friday, in a victory for religious liberty, a federal district court judge ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) signed by President Clinton in 1993 provides the Newland family and Hercules Industries an exemption from the HHS mandate.

NC Register: Matt Bowman, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, objected to the president’s contention that offering exemptions to the mandatory coverage allows employers to control women. “The only ‘controlling’ actions in this case involve the president’s command that families abandon their faith just because they want to earn a living or serve their community,” Bowman told Catholic News Agency Aug. 8. “The government is picking and choosing what faith is and who can live it out, and then targeting religious people with massive penalties, while bureaucrats exempt millions of other people for political reasons.”

CNA: Matt Bowman, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, objected to the president’s contention that offering exemptions to the mandatory coverage allows employers to control women. “The only ‘controlling’ actions in this case involve the president’s command that families abandon their faith just because they want to earn a living or serve their community,” Bowman told CNA Aug. 8. “The government is picking and choosing what faith is and who can live it out, and then targeting religious people with massive penalties while bureaucrats exempt millions of other people for political reasons.”

Catholic Culture: Arguing against Hercules Industries—the Colorado firm that won an injunction against the HHS contraceptive mandate–lawyers for the Obama administration made the stunning claim that “for-profit secular employers generally do not engage in any exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment.” Read that line again.

PR Newswire on the Sacramento Bee: Personhood Colorado submitted signatures to the Secretary of State’s office today for the Colorado Personhood Amendment. The signatures submitted totaled 112,121, although only 86,105 were required.

Wesley J. Smith at The Weekly Standard: A recent federal trial court ruling has warmed the hearts of social conservatives and civil libertarians alike . . . William Newland and his siblings, self-insuring owners of Hercules Industries, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning manufacturing company, did not appreciate being ordered by the federal government to violate the precepts of their Catholic faith. With the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom, the family members and their business (an S corporation in Colorado) sued, claiming (in addition to constitutional arguments) that the free birth control rule violates their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) . . . As Hercules’s attorney Matthew S. Bowman told me, “Apparently the only things a family business may legally pursue—according to the government—are profit and whatever else Washington bureaucrats decide to mandate, which in our case includes contraception, sterilization, and what many believe to be abortion-inducing drugs.”

Michael J. Norton appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the Newland ruling. | MP3 audio 8:55 mins