New York State agreed on Tuesday not to enforce its anti-discrimination law against a Christian wedding photographer opposed to photographing same-sex wedding scenes. The agreement also requires the state to pay a substantial sum in attorney fees to the group representing the photographer.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the photographer, secured the consent decree on July 22.
Emilee Carpenter, a New York State-based photographer, sued the state in 2021, challenging the state’s anti-discrimination law that compelled her to photograph custom scenes, like same-sex wedding scenes, inconsistent with her beliefs.
Carpenter challenged the law in 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, which ruled against her in 2021. The court held that the U.S. Constitution allowed New York State to compel her to photograph same-sex wedding scenes if she offered the service for opposite-sex weddings, regardless of her Christian beliefs.
Carpenter appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2022. Before the Second Circuit made its decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. The Court held that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment where it would compel a Christian web designer to create custom websites for same-sex weddings.
In light of this decision, the Second Circuit vacated the district court’s decision and remanded Carpenter’s case to the district court for reconsideration in light of 303 Creative.
The district court then reversed itself, finding that the Free Speech Clause precludes New York State from compelling Carpenter to photograph scenes inconsistent with her beliefs.
Under the terms of the consent decree, New York State agreed to pay the ADF $225,000 in attorney fees and refrain from compelling Carpenter to take photographs she finds objectionable.
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