Congressman Harris: Religious Freedom in the United States in Question

In Speech on House Floor, Rep. Harris Urges Government to Protect the Religious Beliefs of Every Individual

Washington, D.C.— As the son of immigrants from Eastern Europe who saw government attacks on the right of religious freedom, Congressman Andy Harris, M.D., has serious concerns about the state of religious freedom in the United States, a freedom which is at the center of cases being argued at the Supreme Court today.

Congressman Harris released the following statement on the Supreme Court arguments today: “Today, as the Supreme Court begins to hear oral arguments in two related cases, let us hope that business owners do not have to choose between following their faith and following the law—it’s ironic that as Russians spread religious persecution in Crimea and Ukraine, the United States is having a debate on whether religious liberty will remain a foundational principle here at home.”

Yesterday, Congressman Andy Harris spoke on the House floor in support of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, two companies whose religious freedoms are being threatened by a Department of Health and Human Services directive that attacks their religious freedom. Hobby Lobby has a location in Congressman Harris’ district.

“If the government has its way with these two employers, [it] will attempt to persecute them for their religious beliefs and attempt to destroy them,” Congressman Harris said in his three-minute speech. During the speech, Congressman Harris highlighted the story of his whose own mother, a Ukrainian-Greek Catholic, who fled Communist Ukraine after World War II for a better life in the United States, where she could enjoy the freedom of religion. To watch the speech in its entirety, please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqlHlH7fCHs&feature=youtu.be