To the editor,

More than a half century ago, a high school journalism teacher told me that newspapers thrive on two things, free press and paid advertising.

Mr. Whitehead decries the recent Hobby Lobby ad as going against the separation of church and state that is “very much the position of the citizenry.” He does not question the accuracy of the quotations, which are opinions that are in the public domain and have been for some time.

The ad was accepted by the Lawrence Journal-World, which as far as I can tell is not an arm of the state. (Please correct me if I am wrong in this.) The publisher is free to publish whatever he/she/it chooses and the person who paid for the ad is free to purchase that ad. If Mr. Whitehead wishes to publish a full-page ad espousing a different position, I would say the odds of any newspaper turning down the payment are slim.

Liberty is not infringed by other liberty which does not coerce or physically infringe upon one’s person. Our separation of church and state is not the mandated secularism of France.