Leahy Defends New York Mosque

AP Photo/ABC News, Lauren Victoria Burke

(Host) Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy is defending the right of a Muslim-American group to establish a community center in lower Manhattan.

Leahy said the controversy was unfortunate since the country was founded on religious freedom.

(Leahy) "It may be popular to jump on this, but it should never be popular to have our First Amendment freedom of religion apply to some religions and not others. That's not the American way."

(Host) Leahy's Republican opponent, Len Britton, has criticized what has been called the Ground Zero mosque. The Islamic community center is actually two and a half blocks away from the site of the 9-11 terrorist attack.

Leahy pointed out that for years there has been a mosque very close to the site where the Pentagon was attacked on 9-11.