Video – News #1 – Religious Liberty Under Fire

Air Maria News #1 – Brian Brown defends traditional marriage >>> Play

[This is a re-post of an earlier video from April 2007 which has Rep. Michael Lawlor grilling Brian Brown, then Executive Director of CT Family Institute (it starts at 4:22). Lawlor, along with Andrew McDonald, is the one who recently introduced Bill #1098 that directly and brazenly attacks the authority of Catholic bishops and pastors in the state of Connecticut. In this video they debate the Same Sex Marriage bill also introduced by Lawlor and McDonald. It gives a good look at the persistent drive of Lawlor (a self-proclaimed homosexual) in trying to pin the “bigotry” label on Brian and the Catholic Church merely for opposing gay marriage. The bill died in committee so there is good reason to believe that Bishop Lori has it right when he says this bill is “a thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church” in regard to opposing things like same sex marriage. See our post below.

Brian Brown has since moved on to the the National Organization for Marriage where he spearheaded Proposition 8 against Gay Marriage in California.]

Original Post:

Ave Maria!

This is a special AIRMARIA report on the status of religious liberty in America, relative to the ongoing push on the part of the homosexual lobby for full same-sex marriage in Connecticut. Last year same-sex civil unions were legalized by the state assembly with an amendment defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

In Connecticut, same-sex couples already have all the rights and benefits of married people, just not the name “marriage.” This year they are back for what they call “equality,” but in reality the legalization of same-sex marriage in Connecticut will only codify the defense of traditional marriage as a form of discrimination.

Witness the erosion of your religious liberty! This assault will not stop at the state line. The same-sex marriage lobby wishes to challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act. This affects you, no matter where you live in America.

On March 26, Brian Brown, Executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, testified before the judiciary committee of the state legislature in regard to raised House Bill 7395: An Act Concerning Marriage Equality. He was grilled on the question of commitment to civil rights and his religious convictions. Brian defended both traditional marriage and religious liberty in an eloquent and courageous way. He continues to be attacked on the FIC blog. In this video Brian also tells us what we can do to protect religious liberty.

Don’t underestimate this attack on religious liberty. This has implications for us all. Bill Donohue of the Catholic League has picked up on the threat and is bringing it to national attention. This video is a good synthesis of what happened last Monday.

Ave Maria!