This Saturday – just 17 days before Election Day – American voters of all faiths are taking to the streets in the name of religious freedom and in protest of the Obamacare contraception mandate.
On Oct. 20 at 12 noon, more than 100 “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” rallies sponsored by the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Coalition will take place in cities coast to coast, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and others.
“I think the Obama administration really awakened a sleeping giant with this thing,” said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League and co-director of the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies.
According to the group, tens of thousands of citizens are expected to rally in peaceful, non-partisan demonstrations at local federal buildings, court houses, congressional offices, city parks and churches. The organization notes that at least 300 “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” rallies took place in March and June, drawing more than 125,000 participants.
“People have been feeling like their faith is being treated shoddily by the government, by much of the culture and by the mainstream media,” Scheidler told WND before the event. “They’ve been feeling it for years, in terms of being marginalized and being made to feel their faith is unwelcome in the public square.”
Under Obamacare’s contraception mandate, all employers – even religious institutions – must offer contraceptives, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs to employees.
According to the Congressional Research Service, companies that do not comply may be hit with a federal tax of $100 per day for each employee.
Just months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Obama’s massive health reform law in a 5-4 decision.
“Many people were counting on the Supreme Court to solve this problem by striking down the law,” Scheidler explained. “But that’s not what happened, so it’s really up to us now to get out on Election Day and make a difference. That’s why we decided to hold this rally 17 days before the election – to expose the injustice of the HHS mandate right in the heart of the election season and to rally the troops.”
“Also, we want to put all those running for office on notice that this issue matters to us and it’s not going to go away.”
Scheidler said people from all walks of life, from all faiths, from all races – men and women – have been turning out in droves to protest the mandate.
“The mainstream media and the Obama administration and Planned Parenthood were trying to make this thing out to be a battle between crusty, old Catholic bishops and a bunch of bold, young women trying to live out their lives in freedom,” he said. “One of the big successes of the June and March rallies was that they really put a face on the movement against the HHS mandate that is pretty compelling. I think we’ve really shown the power of grassroots activism to reset the agenda.”
As for Americans who would prefer to stay home on Oct. 20, Scheidler urges them to think twice about that decision.
He said, “Whether we achieve a tremendous victory or this is the beginning of the end of freedom in America, you don’t want to look back in 10 or 20 years and try to explain to your grandchildren or your great-grandchildren why you were sitting down when other people were standing up for religious freedom.”
A complete list of scheduled rallies is available at StandUpRally.com. All rallies begin at noon local time on Oct. 20 unless otherwise noted in the list. StandUpRally.com does not require RSVP and provides signs.
