Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued the following statements after the US Supreme Court released two 7-2 decisions today upholding the First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.
On the Little Sisters of the Poor case (Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania), Lankford commented:
“Today is a great day for our nation and the foundational principle of religious liberty. As the Court said, ‘For over 150 years, the Little Sisters have engaged in faithful service and sacrifice, motivated by a religious calling to surrender all for others. They commit to constantly living out a witness that proclaims the unique, inviolable dignity of every person, particularly those whom others regard as weak.
“But for the past seven years, they—like many other religious objectors who have participated in the litigation and rulemakings leading up to today’s decision—have had to fight for the ability to continue in their noble work without violating their sincerely held religious beliefs. Today, they finally put to rest years of battle to protect the First Amendment rights of all Americans.”
Lankford led an amicus brief with Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) urging the Supreme Court to uphold religious exemption protections for the Little Sisters and met with the Little Sisters earlier this year.
The Court also decided Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey Berru, to which Lankford responded:
“Religious schools were created with the mission to teach their faith to students, and parents send their kids to school with the expectation that faith will be taught. No school or parent should have to sacrifice the faith that guides them and the principles on which they were founded. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed that schools are free to choose the teachers that provide faith education to their students and upheld that First Amendment protection.”