A Christian photographer and blogger scored a major victory against New York state and county officials who tried to force her to create photographs and blogs celebrating same-sex weddings despite her religious objections.
A federal court has issued an order stopping state officials from forcing Emilee Carpenter, owner of Emilee Carpenter Photography, to create messages that violate her faith.
Carpenter, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, challenged the state’s laws that forced her to express messages that violated her beliefs after she received multiple requests from same-sex couples to photograph their weddings.
As CBN News reported, New York accommodation laws ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. Additionally, the laws bar Carpenter and her business from publicly explaining on her studio’s own website or social media her religious reasons for only celebrating wedding ceremonies between one man and one woman.
New York forbids such communications because they could make potential customers feel “unwelcome, objectionable or not accepted, desired, or solicited.” A violation of the law included fines of up to $100,000, a revoked business license, and up to a year in jail.
In 2021, Carpenter filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York contending the laws violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments and barred her rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion.
“Emilee believes that God designed marriage as a gift for people of all faiths, races, and backgrounds, to reflect the unity and diversity seen in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and to point people to Jesus’ sacrificial and redemptive love for His Church,” the lawsuit reads. “Emilee celebrates engagements and marriages between one man and one woman through what she photographs, participates in, and posts about in order to share God’s design for marriage with her clients and the public consistent with her beliefs.”
A district court ruled against her but she appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Last year, the court returned the case to the lower court to reconsider it in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, where the justices ruled in favor of a Colorado web designer who challenged a law that essentially forced artists to create speech that violates their religious beliefs.
As a result, a federal court granted a limited injunction to Carpenter on Thursday ruling that New York’s law can’t force her to create messages that conflict with her faith.
As the district court explained, “From start to finish, (Emilee) provides a customized, tailored photography service that is guided by her own artistic and moral judgment.” This, the court said, shows that Emilee’s photographs “constitute ‘mediums of expression,'” that “are expressive activity protected by the First Amendment.”
ADF attorneys are applauding the ruling.
“Free speech is for everyone, and more courts are ruling consistent with that message,” said ADF Legal Counsel Bryan Neihart. “The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee’s freedom to express her own views as she continues to serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs.”
He continued, “The district court rightly upheld this freedom and followed Supreme Court precedent. Emilee can now enjoy the freedom to create and express herself, a freedom that protects all Americans regardless of their views.”
A district court ruled against her but she appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Last year, the court returned the case to the lower court to reconsider it in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, where the justices ruled in favor of a Colorado web designer who challenged a law that essentially forced artists to create speech that violates their religious beliefs.
As a result, a federal court granted a limited injunction to Carpenter on Thursday ruling that New York’s law can’t force her to create messages that conflict with her faith.
As the district court explained, “From start to finish, (Emilee) provides a customized, tailored photography service that is guided by her own artistic and moral judgment.” This, the court said, shows that Emilee’s photographs “constitute ‘mediums of expression,'” that “are expressive activity protected by the First Amendment.”
ADF attorneys are applauding the ruling.
“Free speech is for everyone, and more courts are ruling consistent with that message,” said ADF Legal Counsel Bryan Neihart. “The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee’s freedom to express her own views as she continues to serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs.”
He continued, “The district court rightly upheld this freedom and followed Supreme Court precedent. Emilee can now enjoy the freedom to create and express herself, a freedom that protects all Americans regardless of their views.”
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