Hobby Lobby Protests Follow Court Ruling
Hobby Lobby stores across the U.S. have been the targets of protests since the Supreme Court ruling on June 30th granting the company a religious exemption from providing in their company health plan four types of contraception that were mandated as part of the Affordable Care Act.
According to a survey of national media reports, there have been Hobby Lobby protests at stores in the following locations since the ruling (and there is likely more that haven't garnered online media coverage):
Edmond, OK (June 30th)
Aurora, IL (July 2nd)
Mishawaka, IN (July 3rd)
Kennewick, WA (July 3rd)
Duluth, MN (July 1st-3rd)
Madison, WI (July 5th)
Warwick, RI (July 5th)
Mobile, AL (July 5th)
East Haven, CT (July 5th)
Wichita, KS (July 5th)
Tulsa, OK (July 5th)
Toledo, OH (July 5th)
Chattanooga, TN (July 5th)
South Jordan, UT (July 5th)
Rancho Cucamonga, CA (July 5th)
Burbank, CA (July 7th)
Totowa, NJ (July 7th)
Albuquerque, NM (July 7th)
Lawrence, KS (July 7th)
Phoenix, AZ (July 7th)
Woodbury, MN (July 8th)
Huntsville, AL (July 11th)
The amount of reported protesters has varied, ranging from a half-dozen people to as high as a hundred at some locations.
In Burbank, protesters disrupted the Grand Opening of the company's new store location by handing out coupons and gift cards for competing stores in the area. Protesters also disrupted the Grand Opening of the Totowa, NJ store by chanting loudly throughout the ribbon cutting ceremony outside the store on Monday.
Protests aren't just taking place outside the store - protesters are taking their dissatisfaction inside the store as well. The Washington Post is reporting that several women have taken to visiting the stores to rearrange alphabet letter products - and dropping condoms around the store - to send the company a message.
How long the protests will continue, and how many people will permanently boycott Hobby Lobby stores, remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure: at the very least, for the time being, Hobby Lobby's Supreme Court victory has brought with it major hassles.
