Letter from Hobby Lobby CEO, “True” according to Snopes.com
Subject: *Hobby Lobby, We may close*
David Sloan “The wisdom that comes from above is, first, pure, then
peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits,
without uncertainty or insincerity.” – James 3:17
By David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working
out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture
frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s
living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and
worked according to God’s word. From there, Hobby Lobby has become one
of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500
locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business
leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby
together, as a family.
We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles.
I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are
(1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on
people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close
early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our
stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so
that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We
believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he
has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak
economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row.
Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new
government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST
provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our
health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might
cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency
contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We
believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception,
something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes
against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company
since day one.
If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in
government fines. Our government threatens to fine job creators in a
bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised
wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family
for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I
know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same
for everybody.
But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of
companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost.
But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief. So, Hobby Lobby
and my family are forced to make a choice. With great
reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund
for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate
before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court,
but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important
than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than
turning a profit.
My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing
our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but
the government is going to make that much more difficult. The
government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and
following the law. I say that’s a choice no American and no American
business should have to make.
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your
fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of
companies but will not exempt Christian organizations including the
Catholic church.
Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on
to all your contacts.
Sincerely,
David Green,
CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.