Louisville taxpayers will fork over $800,000 to end a long-running federal lawsuit between a Christian photographer and the city.
Chelsey Nelson has been battling the city since 2019 over an ordinance that would require her to take photos and write about same-sex weddings, despite her Christian beliefs. She also could not explain her religious beliefs and objections to same-sex unions on her website.
The law in question “threaten[ed] Nelson with unspecified damages, compliance reports, and court orders” if she did not praise LGBT “wedding ceremonies” in the same way she does heterosexual weddings, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
The Christian legal group announced on Tuesday that Nelson has won attorney fees in addition to the nominal damages a court had already awarded her. Federal courts have barred city officials from enforcing the law since 2020.
ADF celebrated the decision in a media statement.
“The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart stated.
“For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs,” the attorney stated.
The threats were in contradiction to “bedrock First Amendment principles which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government,” Neihart continued. “This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive.”
The Louisville battle is the latest religious liberty victory for Christian artists who do not want to use their talents to violate their beliefs and promote same-sex weddings.
The Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 in favor of a web designer who did not want to create websites for same-sex weddings. “The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees,” the majority ruled in the case called 303 Creative v. Elenis.
Colorado officials agreed to pay $1.5 million to the company’s owner, Lorie Smith, after the state’s defeat at the nation’s highest court.
Since the 2023 decision, Alliance Defending Freedom has secured other favorable outcomes for the First Amendment rights of Christians and others who object to the LGBT agenda.
In 2025, New York photographer Emilee Carpenter won her own federal lawsuit against a state law that could have required her to work at a same-sex wedding. Carpenter’s victory over the Empire State came partially due to the 303 decision.
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