Three of my photos from this year – Butterfly and Citrus, The Beat of Officer Harris and Night Train to Heaven – have been accepted for the “Members’ Show” at the Photo Center of Troy. Yep, my two “Single Shot: Half Shot” double-exposure-in-two-cameras photos, as well as my citrus-slurping-butterfly shot, will be on display at the Troy Photo Center starting this Friday, as part of Troy Night Out. Happiness.
So to make my pictures look impressive, and to have them displayed properly on the Troy Photo Center walls, I took the three prints to the Hobby Lobby store in Latham. The framers there do a great job, the pictures are properly matted and mounted, and I appreciate their hard work and customer service.
Which makes the upcoming decision a difficult one for me.
By now you’ve heard of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or maybe you’ve heard of its nickname as ObamaCare. And depending on what name by which you refer to it, is a pretty good indication of how you feel about the program. The short version is that the PPACA will require that companies pay for their employees’ health care costs, no matter what medical assistance their employees might need.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago the company that owns the 500 Hobby Lobby stores filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration, in an effort to block certain aspects of the Health Care Act from being applied to their company. Specifically, Hobby Lobby objects to the possibility that they would have to pay for “morning-after” emergency contraception if their employees requested it. Here’s another article, this time from the Chicago Tribune.
Understand this. The Hobby Lobby organization is proud of their faith, and that faith is incorporated into Hobby Lobby’s hours of operation (closed on Sundays) and its available store products. The owner of the Hobby Lobby company, David Green, recently expressed his concerns and beliefs regarding the lawsuit in a USA Today opinion letter.
Hobby Lobby is very dedicated to its faith; and although they have no problems providing comprehensive health insurance for their employees, they are drawing the line at providing financing for the “morning after” birth control pill. This news report from NewsOK is worth viewing as well.
As you can imagine, this decision has upset people on both sides of the issue. There are Facebook pages calling for a national boycott of all Hobby Lobby stores; just as there are Facebook pages of people who refuse to boycott Hobby Lobby. There’s also online petitions, including this one, demanding a national boycott of all Hobby Lobby stores until the company withdraws its lawsuit.
There are also some voices who state that the Hobby Lobby boycott push may, in fact, be an attempt by one news outlet to create a news story of “company versus community,” possibly trying to stir up a Chick-fil-A-sized storm.
Hobby Lobby is actually the first non-Catholic company to file a lawsuit against the PPACA. Several Catholic churches have filed suit against the government regarding enforcement of a Denver-based HVAC manufacturing company, Hercules Industries, recently won a court injunction against the PPACA being enforced against its company. Herc
But the question now becomes… would I shop at a Hobby Lobby, knowing that they are opposed to paying for “morning-after” birth control pills for their employees as part of mandated health coverage? Should I be “voting with my feet” and taking my business to any of the other Capital Region hobby and craft stores? Or does my purchasing framing supplies and stained glass for “Dream Window” projects at Hobby Lobby mean that I implicitly endorse David Green’s beliefs and mandates for his employees’ health care coverage?
This is the problem. And I’m not the person who is going to solve it like Alexander solving the Gordian Knot. I can only operate on my personal beliefs when shopping or not shopping at Hobby Lobby, or at any store, restaurant or service provider.
Because for me, I’m neither pro-abortion nor anti-abortion. I’m pro-choice, in that I believe that the parents have a right to decide to keep a child, just as much as they have the right to abort the child, or give the child up for adoption, or anything else.
And before anyone questions whether I can actually make a decision like this, especially since I’m not the person who carries a baby for nine months in a womb…
I’ve been there. Trust me on this.
When my daughter Cassaundra was conceived, neither I nor her mother were ready to be parents. We discussed our options and we disagreed and we argued. But we set aside everything and did our best. Cassaundra was born and she’s doing well today.
I’ve said before – I wasn’t the greatest parent in the world. And I made mistakes. Every parent does. But I learned from those mistakes, and I did what I could to keep Cassaundra safe. As did everyone else in her extended family. I’m not saying that any one of you readers would have made the same decision, nor am I chastising anyone for even thinking of disagreeing with my comments.
You are allowed to make choices in your life. You can boycott Hobby Lobby because of their lawsuit; you can increase your purchases at Hobby Lobby because of this lawsuit. That’s your choice.
So I will continue to shop at Hobby Lobby. But in my doing so, I also encourage every one of you readers to make your own personal decision as to whether Hobby Lobby’s beliefs and core policies regarding their lawsuit would either encourage or discourage your shopping within its stores. My decision to continue shopping there should not sway your personal shopping habits one way or the other. But I do want to hear your decisions and thoughts.
I may not have the right answer on this Hobby Lobby boycott question… but then again, I’m not even sure that there IS an all-encompassing “right answer.”
Chuck The Writer 
If we had a national healthcare system (like every other industrialized nation on he planet), we wouldn’t have this issue. People contribute to the fund via taxes, and it’s possible we’d have a couple extra dollars in our pockets each week (taxes versus healthcare premiums and large co-pays). It’s sickening to hear people in the medical field whine that Americans are deadbeats who want something for nothing.
I don’t care for Hobby Lobby shops, but everyone is entitled to an opinion.
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I fear that this will open the door for businesses that oppose say…chemotherapy or… blood transfusions…or whatEVER.
It’s the law. So you have to support it. Let your vote be your voice.
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Hobby Lobby – and while I don’t agree with their views – I don’t think it would keep me away from the store if I had a reason to go there.
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Those countries with nationalized health care have discovered over the years it has destroyed their economies, and lowered their health care standards.
Why do you think for so many years well to do Canadians were coming to the US to get medical treatments? It’s because they were willing to cross the border and pay out of pocket for something they otherwise would have to wait months and perhaps years to do at home.
The problem with our healthcare system isn’t affordability. It’s lawsuits. It isn’t greedy doctors. It’s malpractice and people racing to file claims. Tort reform would go a long way toward lowering health care costs in the US. But Congress would rather raise what we pay for healthcare than take on the tougher job of changing tort laws. Cowards and short-sighted fools . . .
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Something always puzzles me when this argument comes up: the “morning after pill” doesn’t terminate pregnancies – it prevents them from ever existing. I think it’s often confused with RU-486, which is commonly called the “abortion pill”. Two different things altogether.
The morning after pill is no different than other forms of contraception, except for the timing of its use. So where is the moral issue behind insuring it? I wonder of the Hobby Lobby covers traditional contraception drugs and devices?
I’m no expert, but some quick research at a reliable website confirms that the morning after pill won’t harm an existing pregnancy, if there should happen to be one. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/morning-after-pill/MY01190/DSECTION=risks
It feels like a non-issue to me. I call ignorance on Hobby Lobby for making something out of nothing.
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Decisions on where to shop or which products to buy gets a lot easier when you just realize that pretty much every single corporation on earth has shady & objectionable practices that are bound to offend some segment of the population.
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I agree with Hal. I have long known the stances that Hobby Lobby and other national stores have but have not let that guide my buying power. If I was to be employed by such a business,I would probably be inclined to follow their company beliefs and if not,would I want to be employed there? People will go to events held at churches that are not of their personal belief for craft fairs,garage sales and dinners-what is really the difference? And,maybe if we began to be more tolerant of others and their rights,we’d all be better off?
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I refuse to shop at WalMart because of their price cutting tactics that drive local competition out of business. I prefer to buy local and support local companies. That being said, I share Chuck’s views on reproductive choice, but unless a company is forcing leaflets on me or trying to sway me to their point of view, I will shop there. I don’t ask the people behind the counter their personal beliefs & I don’t expect them to ask me mine. Would I work for them? No. But I would still shop there.
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Cathy, I don’t know any relatives or friends experiencing the problems you mention, but I do know Americans who go to Canada for treatment. I have accompanied relatives and friends on NHS visits and was truly impressed. Americans deserve this peace of mind.
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Can’t wait for the first lawsuit from a small business person that is a Jehovah Witness who is denying to pay for insurance for any blood transfusions or surgeries where blood products will be used.
I can see new religions popping up that find heart bypasses to be a sin, so they can lower premiums and increase profits by not covering them.
So it goes in the crazy years.
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I support the boycott, but then there’s no Hobby Lobby storres in the area. There are plenty of things the government spends my tax dollars on I don’t approve of, but that’s the deal living in a democracy.
My former fellow Catholics and “others” have been paying for birth-control for decades via their tax dollars, but NOW they want to make an issue of it?
What it comes down to is that most (not all, but certainly most) FAR-RIGHT, extremist orthrodox Christians, Jews and Muslims, don’t want to live in a democracy, they want to live in a fantasy land where they can enjoy the benefits of our democratic system without fully participating in it.
So, if Hobby Lobby wants to make it political, they got it. I hope they enjoy it, but at the end of the day they’ll probably wish they just shut up and paid their damn taxes like everyone else.
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If you’re looking for an alternative, I suggest americanframe.com. They have quality stuff, and you end up paying less if you’re willing to assemble your frames yourself.
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personally I think all stores other than Mom and Pop stores should be closed on Sunday and give that time to family as it was years ago and everyone survived and also that would let the Mom and Pop stores make a bit more of a living. Maybe a drugstore could be opened up for a few hours if necessary for those that may need meds immediately.
As for the morning after thing that is a personal thing with the company and it is their choice to make. Why should they pay for something that is not a medical issue? Sandy D
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Funny how everybody is happy to provide coverage for boner pills, which are nearly 100% medically unnecessary, but not to deal with the other side of the equation.
@Sandy Davenport — when the “blue laws” started getting invalidated or rescinded in the ’60s and ’70s, my recollection is that it was actually small business that resisted that change the most, arguing that they were least able to afford to hire additional staff to be open another day and that would put them at a competitive disadvantage. This was especially true as stores moved to malls, which mandated hours of operation, whereas with a downtown store you could set your own hours.
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Another twist: Paying top dollar for HMO but I have to fight for my brand name medication (generic causes problem) every six months.
Americans are getting screwed.
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If there’s something more necessary to the survival of life as we know it as boner pills, I haven’t found it yet.
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If a corporation makes a public stand on an issue, whether it’s Hobby Lobby on contraception, Lowe’s pulling its sponsorship from the American Muslim TV show, or Walmart fighting unions, they open themselves to suffering the economic impact of losing customers who do not support those views. Consumers – vote with your feet and your wallet!
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Cathy, your assertion that the cost of healthcare in this country is not a problem is patently false. While lawsuits are at ridiculous levels that is also not just a problem for medicine. Further when there is malpractice, which beyond doubt and verifiably happens. There should be reasonable compensation appropriate to the level of failure. When people get charged twenty dollars for a tylenol pill at the hospital or tens of thousands of dollars for a dose of anti-venom that costs one or two hundred in Mexico or Canada, there is a problem. There are countless examples of ludicrous inflation and willful waste to line the pockets of the various aspects of medical businesses. We should have a national system. Let private systems compete with a real baseline price point, not a rigged in their favor system.
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