You simply can't have Cardinal Catholic Andrew Cuomo close Nassau OTB, a public benefit corporation, on his Easter Sunday and his Palm Sunday and not that of the members of the Eastern Orthodox Church who using a different calendar observe the holidays of the same name on different days. In some years the Gregorian and Julian Calendars do coincide.
NY PML Sec 105, now Sec. 109 violates the rights of New York State Bettors secured by NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3.
The statutes do not even apply to Nassau OTB. Just ask (if you have standing) Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for a free Formal or Informal Opinion.
If Nassau OTB employees do not want to work while they still have a job that pays time and half on Sunday, they are free to take vacation without giving a reason and go to Church or anyplace else that they might wish.
Teamsters Local 707, Kevin McCaffrey, Barry Yomtov, Laura Campione, et al. The Union that does not believe in the freedom of its Greek and/or betting members et al. secured by NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3.
Editorial
The Politics of Religion
Published: May 27, 2012
Thirteen Roman Catholic dioceses and some Catholic-related groups scattered lawsuits across a dozen federal courts last week claiming that President Obama was violating their religious freedom by including contraceptives in basic health care coverage for female employees. It was a dramatic stunt, full of indignation but built on air.
Related News
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Catholics File Suits on Contraceptive Coverage (May 22, 2012)
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Mr. Obama’s contraception-coverage mandate specifically exempts houses of worship. If he had ordered all other organizations affiliated with a religion to pay for their employees’ contraception coverage, that policy could probably be justified under Supreme Court precedent, including a 1990 opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia.
But that argument does not have to be made in court, because Mr. Obama very publicly backed down from his original position and gave those groups a way around the contraception-coverage requirement.
Under the Constitution, churches and other religious organizations have total freedom to preach that contraception is sinful and rail against Mr. Obama for making it more readily available. But the First Amendment is not a license for religious entities to impose their dogma on society through the law. The vast majority of Americans do not agree with the Roman Catholic Church’s anti-contraception stance, including most American Catholic women.
The First Amendment also does not exempt religious entities or individuals claiming a sincere religious objection from neutral laws of general applicability, a category the new contraception rule plainly fits. In 1990, Justice Scalia reminded us that making “the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land” would mean allowing “every citizen to become a law unto himself.”
In 1993, Congress required government actions that “substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” to advance a compelling interest by the least restrictive means. The new contraceptive policy does that by promoting women’s health and autonomy.
And there was no violation of religious exercise to begin with. After religious groups protested, the administration put the burden on insurance companies to provide free contraceptive coverage to women who work for religiously affiliated employers like hospitals or universities — with no employer involvement.
This is a clear partisan play. The real threat to religious liberty comes from the effort to impose one church’s doctrine on everyone.
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