More Than 100 Rally For Religious Freedom

With three days and an abundance of passion, Paula Hoppel of Havre de Grace made Bel Air part of .

"I am amazed. I had no idea what to expect, but I was thinking we'd get at least 50 people but I think we tripled that," Hoppel said.

Hoppel said she was passionate about standing up against the that requires employers, including religious institutions, to provide contraceptives to employees through their health care plans.

The Department of Health and Human Services stated that the new rule "Ensures that women with health insurance coverage will have access to the full range" of all "FDA-approved forms of contraception."

Hoppel learned the nearest rally location to Harford County, out of 129 planned for the same time across the nation, was Baltimore. She said time constraints limited how far she could go on Friday, so she decided to organize a rally a a little closer to home in Bel Air.

Hoppel and more than 100 others gathered on the steps of the Friday to express opposition to the law.

"As a young woman I don't think this is representative of my needs or beliefs," Amelia Watkins, 22, of Elkton, said at the rally Friday.

Watkins told Patch she feels the law is disrespectful to her as a Christian and as a young woman who has no need for contraception. She said the mandate does not represent her and other women of all ages who feel the same way.

Were you at the rally? What are your thoughts on the law? Please share respectfully in the comments section below.