Hobby Lobby Fighting Mandate to Provide Birth Control to Employees: Will You Shop There?

A new arts and crafts-supply store opens Monday in Elk Grove, but the national chain has been in the news for a different reason lately.

Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby has been fighting the part of the 2010 federal healthcare law that would require it to provide its employees with coverage for birth control, saying it violated the store's religious beliefs. Last month, a judge put the case on hold until October and allowed Hobby Lobby to stop providing birth control coverage, Reuters reported.

"The Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby, had argued that providing coverage to workers for the morning-after pill and similar contraceptives violated its Christian beliefs," Reuters said.

Reuters said Hobby Lobby is the largest company to be exempted from the requirement so far, but that more than 60 similar lawsuits are pending.

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Will this affect your decision to shop at Hobby Lobby? Tell us in the comments section below.

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A press release about Hobby Lobby's Monday grand opening follows:

National Craft Retailer Hobby Lobby Celebrates the Grand Opening of its Elk Grove, CA Store

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Hobby Lobby Stores, a privately held national retail chain of arts and crafts stores, opens its 13th location in California in Elk Grove with a ribbon cutting ceremony and official grand opening celebration on Monday, August 12 at 9:00 a.m. Ms. Ramona Moore is the store manager of the 61,000 square-foot retail facility, formerly occupied by Food Source, located at East Stockton Blvd and Bond Road off the Sacramento Freeway in the Marketplace 99 shopping center. Co-tenants include Burlington Coat and Ross Dress for Less.

The store’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony is open to the public. Local dignitaries, ambassadors from the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, and other business leaders will be on-hand to help with the celebration.

“Our continued expansion in California includes seven new stores in 2013, with locations in Sacramento and Antioch opening within the month. Customers new to Hobby Lobby will find that we offer the widest variety of crafting supplies and home décor merchandise in one location, with new merchandise arriving all the time,” stated John Schumacher, Assistant Vice President of Advertising. He added, “The constant element throughout Hobby Lobby’s growth has always been our loyal customers, our outstanding employees, and our pledge to provide exceptional selection, value and service.”

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