{"id":1330,"date":"2011-10-13T15:27:35","date_gmt":"2011-10-13T19:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=1330"},"modified":"2011-11-29T15:26:49","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T20:26:49","slug":"jay-sekulow-update-on-legal-challenges-to-obamacare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/10\/jay-sekulow-update-on-legal-challenges-to-obamacare.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Update on Legal Challenges to ObamaCare"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>With a majority of Americans continuing to reject ObamaCare – the government-run, pro-abortion health care law – there’s now a new poll<\/a> that underscores what most Americans want:\u00a0 70% of Americans favor individual choice over government standards for health insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This comes at a time when the legal challenges to ObamaCare are intensifying with the latest petition filed this week <\/a>asking the Supreme Court to take a case challenging the flawed health care law.<\/p>\n

That development comes just days after the Commonwealth of Virginia filed filed its Petition for Writ of Certiorari\u00a0 with the Supreme Court<\/a> asking it to take its case and overturn the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the Commonwealth lacked standing to sue against ObamaCare.<\/p>\n

Virginia\u2019s petition<\/a> asserts, as we have argued in our own suit challenging the law<\/a>, that the individual mandate of ObamaCare \u2013 forcing individuals to buy a particular service against their will \u2013 is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

The mandate and penalty are also not supported by the text of the Commerce Clause, which presupposes an activity to regulate. The historical context in which the Commerce Clause was drafted makes it highly unlikely that it included a power to command a citizen to purchase goods or services from another. Certainly there is no tradition or history of the Commerce Clause being used in this way.<\/p>\n

As you know, the ACLJ has supported Virginia\u2019s challenge to this unconstitutional violation of our personal liberties from the beginning. We filed an amicus brief\u00a0<\/a>representing 49 Members of Congress \u2013 including House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor \u2013 and over 70,000 Americans from across the country.<\/p>\n

As Virginia\u2019s petition points out, the number of cases heading to the Supreme Court challenging ObamaCare and the split in the\u00a0federal circuits, \u201cmaximize[s] the likelihood of [the Supreme Court] reaching the merits\u201d and quickly deciding this important constitutional case.<\/p>\n

At the same time, we are backing Florida’s challenge to ObamaCare. As you may recall, the Obama Administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case out of Florida <\/a>(involving 26 states challenging ObamaCare) and review the decision of a federal appeals court striking the individual mandate of ObamaCare.<\/p>\n

We will continue to support these efforts out of Virginia<\/a> and Florida<\/a>\u00a0 to overturn this pro-abortion law as we await a decision from a D.C. federal appeals court in our own lawsuit<\/a> challenging ObamaCare, which we expect to end up at the Supreme Court as well.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Supreme Court will decide ObamaCare, and I am confident that it will find this law \u2013 and its overarching restriction on liberty \u2013 unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

We will continue to keep you updated as these critical cases progress. You can get the latest information on this and other critical issues by visiting the Jay Sekulow<\/a>\u00a0page at our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a majority of Americans continuing to reject ObamaCare – the government-run, pro-abortion health care law – there’s now a new poll that underscores what most Americans want:\u00a0 70% of Americans favor individual choice over government standards for health insurance.\u00a0 This comes at a time when the legal challenges to ObamaCare are intensifying with the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,65,8],"tags":[743,67,68,70,791,764,331,283],"class_list":["post-1330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aclj","category-obamacare","category-supreme-court","tag-aclj","tag-commerce-clause","tag-health-care-law","tag-individual-mandate","tag-jay-sekulow","tag-obamacare","tag-u-s-supreme-court","tag-unconstitutional"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Update on Legal Challenges to ObamaCare - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/10\/jay-sekulow-update-on-legal-challenges-to-obamacare.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Update on Legal Challenges to ObamaCare - 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ACLJ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#\/schema\/person\/fd4c384af0620d4b82ae09cf1d77bdb4","name":"Jay Sekulow","description":"Jay Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a law firm and educational organization that focuses on constitutional law. He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1330"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1338,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions\/1338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}