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Florida Federal Judge Bans Enforcement of HHS Mandate Against Beckwith Electric, 1st in the State of Florida
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ANN
ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public
interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced that this past
Monday, Federal District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the
Middle District of Florida granted its Motion for a Preliminary
Injunction banning enforcement of the HHS Mandate. The motion for a
Preliminary Injunction was filed by TMLC on behalf of Plaintiffs Thomas
R. Beckwith and his family’s company, Beckwith Electric.
The
Government claimed that once a business owner chooses to enter into the
marketplace or incorporate his business, he surrenders his right to
exercise his religious beliefs.
However, Judge Kovachevich’s 37-page decision which mentioned Thomas R.
Beckwith’s unique family history—Beckwith’s ancestors arrived on the
shores of America in 1626 to escape religious persecution from England
-- ended with a powerful statement on religious freedom:
“The
First Amendment, and its statutory corollary the RFRA, endow upon the
citizens of the United States the unalienable right to exercise
religion, and that right is not relinquished by efforts to engage in
free enterprise under the corporate form. No legislative, executive, or
judicial officer shall corrupt the Framers' initial expression, through
their enactment of laws, enforcement of those laws, or more importantly,
their interpretation of those laws. And
any action that debases, or cheapens, the intrinsic value of the tenet
of religious tolerance that is entrenched in the Constitution cannot
stand.” (Emphasis added)
Erin Mersino, TMLC’s lead attorney representing Beckwith, commented, “Tom
Beckwith was fighting the Federal Government for the freedom to
practice his Southern Baptist faith. The HHS Mandate would have forced
him to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs in
violation of his religious beliefs or face up to $6 million in annual
penalties. Kovachevich’s ruling halts enforcement of the HHS mandate
until a final decision is reached in this case.”
Click here to read Judge Kovachevich’s entire opinion.
Judge Kovachevich’s ruling is the first injunction against the HHS
Mandate granted in the State of Florida. It also marks the
twenty-second injunction against the HHS Mandate granted by Federal
Courts on religious freedom grounds across the country. The Government
is expected to appeal the ruling to the Eleventh Circuit Court of
Appeals.
The Thomas More Law Center was assisted by local counsel Paul Pizzo and
Scott Richards of the firm Fowler White Boggs, P.A. located in Tampa,
Florida.
The Attorney General of the State of Florida filed a friend of the court
brief in support of the Thomas More Law Center, as did several other
Christian organizations, including the Ethics & Religious Liberty
Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
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TMLC News Alerts.
Thomas More Law Center
24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
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