A Christian wedding photographer based in Upstate New York reached a court-approved settlement with state officials on Tuesday, after four years of litigation. The state was forced to pay Emilee Carpenter $225,000 in legal fees and acknowledged that New York officials could not compel her to unwillingly photograph same-sex weddings.
Emilee Carpenter initially filed a complaint against the state of New York over the state's public accommodations laws, which ban sexual-orientation discrimination. Carpenter claimed these laws compelled her to violate her personal religious views by "professing the state’s approved view about marriage," specifically in regard to same-sex couples.
"I seek to glorify God in all that I do. My faith is really integral to me and to my business and has ultimately shaped my view on marriage," said Emilee Carpenter. "It's my honor and my duty to bring that into my photography. And, it's been about a decade now, and I'm still photographing weddings, and I absolutely love it."
Attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represented Emilee Carpenter and her photography business in the lawsuit against New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
“Free speech is for everyone, and we’re pleased to settle this case so that Emilee can speak her views on marriage without the threat of being punished by New York,” said ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart. “As the Supreme Court reaffirmed in 303 Creative, the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe."
The suit was remanded from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit after the Supreme Court decided a similar case from Colorado, 303 Creative v. Elenis.
The Colorado case involved graphic artist and website designer Lorie Smith, who challenged a state law that would compel her to speak in contradiction of her religious convictions. The Supreme Court's decision on 303 Creative v. Elenis reaffirmed the foundational First Amendment principle that the government may not “seek[] to force an individual to speak in ways that align with [the government’s] views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance.”
Based on the Supreme Court's ruling, the lower court ruled in Emilee Carpenter's consent decree that “it is now beyond debate” that New York’s laws “may not be ‘applied to expressive activity to compel speech.’” The court concluded that New York’s laws violated that principle by compelling Carpenter to create photographs expressing a message that contradicts her beliefs.
"The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee’s freedom to express her own beliefs as she continues to serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs," said Neihart. "New Yorkers can now enjoy the freedom to create and express themselves, a freedom that protects all Americans regardless of their views.”
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