Christian photographer who was 'forced' to shoot same-sex weddings gets backing from Trump DOJ in lawsuit
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: A Christian wedding photographer gained the support of the Department of Justice in her lawsuit against the city of Louisville over its fairness ordinance that would purportedly force her to take pictures at same-sex weddings.
A "statement of interest" in photographer Chelsey Nelson's case was filed by the Justice Department in federal court this week, saying she would likely succeed on her claim, NBC News reports
In November last year, Nelson sued the city of Louisville arguing the ordinance violated the First Amendment.
In the lawsuit, Nelson asserted she "can't photograph anything that conflicts with my religious conviction that marriage is a covenant relationship before God between one man and one woman."
Now, the religious photographer is urging the court to block enforcement of the fairness ordinance, saying she does not want to photograph same-sex wedding ceremonies.
"Forcing a photographer, against her conscience, to express her support for a wedding that her faith opposes violates the Constitution," a release from the Justice Department said Thursday.
According to court records, Nelson has not been forced to take pictures at a same-sex wedding as yet.
In response to the lawsuit, City of Louisville officials have argued that Nelson has no cause to challenge the ordinance, and so lawyers representing the city government have asked the judge to thereby dismiss the suit.
The American Civil Liberties Union defended the city in a brief saying Nelson was violating the law by offering wedding photography only to heterosexual couples.
"Nelson Photography must know who a prospective customer is before deciding whether it will refuse to serve that person," the ACLU brief said, accusing Nelson of identity-based discrimination.
Having said that, Nelson's lawsuit echoes a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that said the state of Colorado had violated the rights of a Christian baker by sanctioning him after he refused to bake a wedding cake for a homosexual couple.