Same-sex marriage and religious liberty issues in Connecticut; Empire State Pride Agenda challenges claims of harm to religious liberty

04/21/09 Mirror of Justice Blog:

"Here are a couple of letters to the speaker of the Connecticut house arguing for meaningful religious liberty exemptions in the bill [to implement the state supreme court's October 2008 decision in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health]. One is from four religious liberty scholars, including Robin Fretwell Wilson (Washington and Lee, drafter), Carl Esbeck (Missouri), and MOJ's own Rick Garnett and Tom Berg, proposing a text of a broader exemption. The other is from Professor Doug Laycock, explicitly supporting both same-sex marriage and religious liberty and endorsing the text in our letter."

Source of reference to Mirror of Justice: ADF Alliance Alert

04/21/09 National Center for Lesbian Rights:

Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle said, “For too long, the religious right has controlled the religious debate around marriage for same-sex couples by promoting misinformation that marriage equality threatens religious freedom. Today a diverse group of [Massachusetts] clergy speaks directly to New Yorkers about their experiences since Massachusetts legalized marriage for same-sex couples.”

04/22/09 Boston Globe:

"Several prominent religious leaders from Massachusetts are lending their support to the campaign for the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York state, arguing in various venues yesterday that gay marriage has not affected religious freedom in the Bay State. The gay rights group, the Empire State Pride Agenda, said it sought out clergy in Masachusetts in an effort to rebut critics of same-sex marriage."