|
Dear Editor: Imagine my surprise when I
walked out in front of my church this morning to discover that someone had
stolen the banner that was hanging there for the past two weeks. The manner simply said, “Defend Marriage,
Now” and contained the web address of the Connecticut Family
Association. St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church in Darien gave the banner to us because they were not permitted to
hang it on their property. It seems
that someone did not want to wait for Congress to pass a law similar to the
one that was recently passed in Canada prohibiting free speech with regard to
sexual orientation C-250. They took
matters into their own hands and removed the banner during the night. It is interesting to me that there are
those who want free speech for themselves but want to deny this right to
others. I understand from David
Keating, our zoning enforcement officer, that he has received several
enquiries concerning the banner and when it would be taken down. Apparently someone did not want to wait
for it to be removed voluntarily and decided to take matters into their own
hands. I appreciated the individual who was willing to check our web site “calvarybaptist.darien.org” and send me an e-mail stating his position. This enabled us to open a dialogue. We could |
express our opposing views without violating any
laws or attacking one another’s rights.
I have made a police report concerning this theft and the person
responsible is now guilty of the crime of larceny. I hope that the one who took this banner will have the decency
to return it. We planned to remove it
in another week in agreement with Mr. Keating. Our church will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary
next week and we intended to put up a banner announcing this fact. I trust that no one will find this
offensive. This community ignores
most of the things that we do, so I am glad that we were able to get at least
some response to our activity even if it had to involve the breaking of the
law. I guess it is not politically correct
to believe that family is defined as the union of a man and a woman for the
benefit of children and society. Thank you for printing
this letter and letting others know about the attack that is being launched
on those who want to preserve free speech and the traditional family. Sincerely, Rev. Dr. Anthony L. Gibson, D. Min. Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church 988 Post Road Darien, CT. 06820 |