Gay or straight, let's embrace the language of marriage equality ...
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton has ruled that Chelsey Nelson cannot be forced to photograph a gay wedding due to her religious convictions that homosexual marriage is not righteous marriage. The entity seeking to force her to do it was the government of Louisville, KY. They knowingly defied a SCOTUS ruling in the hope Nelson would not have the resources to legally challenge the attack on her 1st Amendment Rights.
Alliance Defending Freedom Attorney Bryan Neihart said of the ruling, “Free speech is fore everyone. As the Supreme Court held two years ago in 303 Creative v Elenis, Americans have the freedom to express and create messages that align with their beliefs without fear of government punishment. The First Amendment leaves decisions about what to say with the people, not with the government.”
Christian Photographer Wins Major Free-Speech Victory in Louisville Ruling– www.standingforfreedom.com Source Link Excerpt:
A federal judge has permanently barred Louisville from forcing a Christian wedding photographer to provide services for same-sex weddings against her religious beliefs under the guise of its non-discrimination law.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton, appointed by President Donald Trump, issued the decision Tuesday in the case first brought by Chelsey Nelson in 2022. The ruling upholds previous orders blocking the city from enforcing a nondiscrimination law against her and also awards her nominal damages.
Nelson, who believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, has said that she cannot photograph same-sex weddings. She argued that the city’s ordinance violated her rights under the First Amendment and Kentucky’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Nelson first won a ruling in her favor in 2022, but the city appealed, and she also sought damages. The case was sent back to the district court by the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, which held that states cannot compel artists and others to express messages that go against their deeply held beliefs.
