April 23, 2009 -- Thanks to an overwhelming response from the people of Connecticut, we saw a major religious liberty victory in Connecticut last night as SB899 was amended to include substantial conscience protections for the people of Connecticut. The bill codifies the Supreme Court ruling in Kerrigan, but adds new protections for religious organizations that were left vulnerable after the Kerrigan ruling. The vote last night, letters from legal scholars submitted earlier this week, and the overwhelming response from Connecticut residents, further affirm that the religious liberty conflicts highlighted in NOM's "Gathering Storm" ad campaign are of real concern to the American people. The vote last night caps an amazingly successful grassroots campaign over the past month as NOM has partnered with the Family Institute of Connecticut and the Knights of Columbus to organize the opposition that was heard loud and clear by every legislator in the state. The campaign included radio and TV ads, plus automated phone calls to every household in the state, generating more than 20,000 phone calls and thousands of emails urging Connecticut legislators to make sure religious liberty was protected in SB899.