What Oklahoman readers didn’t see was a full-page counter-ad released by Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit committed to preserving the separation of church and state.
While Hobby Lobby’s “In God We Trust” ad included quotes from presidents, founding fathers, Supreme Court rulings and even “foreigners” (their words), FFRF’s “In Reason We Trust” ad contained illustrations of American Revolutionaries and founding fathers, accompanied by quotes and short history lessons about how they weren’t quite as pious as Hobby Lobby would have you think (and we don’t mean Ben Franklin’s whoremongering).
The FFRF ad appeared in 24 papers across the country, including news giants The New York Times and Chicago Tribune, and even was printed back- to-back with Hobby Lobby’s in the Peoria Journal Star.
But not in The Oklahoman.
The
FFRF told Friendly Atheist blogger Hemant Mehta that the paper had
indicated it could not run the ad. When pressed as to why, a sales
executive allegedly told Mehta she “[couldn’t] comment on an advertiser
relationship.”
“We’re
shocked that our ad, featuring bona fide quotes from early founders and
presidents, would be censored, while Hobby Lobby’s disinformation runs
without balance,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF’s co-president. “Why
can’t Oklahoma City readers be permitted to read a view challenging
Hobby Lobby’s disinformation and our message of ‘In Reason We Trust’?”
Why, you ask, Ms. Gaylor? You need a reason? Boy, reason is like a
religion with you people.
Hey! Read This:
• Crossing Obamacare: Hobby Lobby's legal battle against the Affordable Care Act has made it a darling of evangelical Christians nationwide
