Religious Liberty = Homophobia?

Radical gays, and their straight allies, have gotten so bold that they are prepared to assault First Amendment religious-liberty rights.

NEW YORK (Catholic League) - New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said he would not sign a recent bill ordering same-sex marriage unless it strengthened religious liberty provisions. Led by advocates of gay marriage, the vote yesterday was 188-186 against amending the bill to insure religious liberty protections.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed what happened:

"Leading the fight for gay marriage in New Hampshire is Rep. Steve Vaillancourt. He proves, beyond any shadow of a doubt, why champions of religious liberty must resist gay marriage: he worked to kill the bill because it insulated religious institutions from its reach."

"In other words, it was not good enough for Vaillancourt to secure a win on gay marriage--he had to have it all. And having it all means denying the right of religious institutions not to sanction homosexual marriage. Indeed, he said the religious liberty amendment would "enshrine homophobia into the statutes of the New Hampshire legislature."

"So this is what we've come to in America: religious objections to homosexuality, rooted in the Bible, natural law and the teachings of most religions, is nothing more than a pernicious phobia. Not too long ago, such objections simply constituted common sense. Looks like we need a college course, "Common Sense 101." The problem is, only the students would be capable of teaching it."

"Radical gays, and their straight allies, have gotten so bold that they are prepared to assault First Amendment religious-liberty rights. Two years ago, a lesbian couple in New Jersey sought to have their civil union ceremony in a hall owned by a Methodist church, but was denied on religious grounds. The government sided with the lesbians: the Methodist establishment had its property tax exemption pulled."

"We hope Gov. Lynch sticks to his guns."

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The Catholic League is the nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization. Founded in 1973 by the late Father Virgil C. Blum, S.J., the Catholic League defends the right of Catholics – lay and clergy alike – to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination. It is led by its' President, William A. Donohue, Ph.D.