Why Hobby Lobby could open a Pandora’s box of legal discrimination

[doxydad]

Some effects of the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores will be relatively immediate: Women who work at companies with owners who decide it’s against their religious beliefs to provide birth control will lose free or cheap access to contraceptives such as the Plan B pill, IUDs and, potentially, condoms, as well as the most popular pill form of birth control.

But other consequences of the Hobby Lobby decision could take years to pan out, and they would affect not only contraceptives but also various women's rights as well as LGBT rights and the rights of the disabled.

Despite the assurance by Justice Samuel Alito in his majority opinion on Hobby Lobby that the implications of the case are narrow — solely focused on “closely held” companies and likely to affect only birth control — legal scholars say the ruling could open a Pandora’s box of court cases in which discrimination is justified under the rubric of religious freedom.

“I don’t think his assurances say this case won’t be applied to anything else,” said Kevin Russell, a partner at Goldstein & Russell, a law firm that represents cases before the Supreme Court. “It is going to arise again when someone sues over gender or sexual orientation discrimination.”

Russell says it may take a few years, but it’s not hard to imagine a case in which an employer decides to treat a woman differently than a man, or doesn’t provide equal health coverage to a same-sex couple, and justifies the decision by citing his or her religious beliefs.


http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/3/hobby-lobby-future.html
|

[RKP5637]

1. Exactly what is going to happen. The HL ruling IMO has set precedence for religious

freedom being used as leverage for discrimination. It was a blatantly stupid SCOTUS decision.

[etherealtruth]

2. It was designed by the psycho supreme 5 to do all that and more

It was their intention and they succeeded.

[LiberalLoner]

12. +1

[Vattel]

3. Such a case could easily happen. But the real question is whether it could succeed.

Given the Hobby Lobby decision and opinion, the Court would have to say that the belief that it would be sinful to provide certain benefits to a same sex couple qualifies as a religious belief and so is protected under RFRA. But I suspect that even with the strict scrutiny required by that statute, the court would find a way to say that the government interest in preventing discrimination would be sufficient to justify the infringement upon the free exercise of religion. I am not sure about that, though. Just making an educated guess.

[Ilsa]

4. "... rights of the disabled."

It would not surprise me that some asshole would proclaim his belief that God causes some people to be "less than" and discriminate accordingly.

The extreme form of capitalism and un-Godly discrimination embraced by the 5 and allowed to unify and be practiced by the 1% and will cause the ruin of this nation. The united assholes.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. And if children had any rights...

I am fuming mad.

[TlalocW]

5. He's wrong

It's not going to take a few years. It will happen this year.

TlalocW

[Quantess]

10. I would place my bets on that, as well. (no text)

[BrotherIvan]

13. It's already happened

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025194036

Religious groups are asking an exemption to the executive order that says that federal contractors can't discriminate based on sexual orientation. "Violating" any religious beliefs will take precedence over all other rights. This decision will be the greatest victory for religious nutjobs for decades to come.

[Iliyah]

6. I'm beginning to believe that thats what they want

because their GAWD say so. Discriminate against anyone who does not toll their line of so called "Christianity" with laws backing it up per the 5 asshole justices. Talk about impeach, I consider at least two of them to be valid.

[HockeyMom]

7. Backdoor approach to a Christian Theocracy

Right of employers to force their religion on employees. Only way around that? Start your own business or your boss will be your Master.

[ballyhoo]

8. That is exactly what they want. Hobby Lobby is nothing

more than another diversion so the MIC can work on other matters with reduced interference. They do this successfully time and time again.

[Justice]

11. The employer has all the power - will be difficult for employees to make a case/get a lawyer/fight

[Phentex]

14. kick

Hobby Lobby