The state of New York paid Christian wedding photographer Emilee Carpenter $225,000 in attorney fees this week, after she sued them on account of a state law which would have required her to photograph same-sex weddings.
Carpenter brought the lawsuit, Emilee Carpenter Photography v. James, forward in April 2021. She had noticed several laws in New York that would force her to provide the same photography services to same-sex couples as she provided to heterosexual couples. These laws would also forbid her from voicing her religious position on same-sex relationships on her website, since that could cause people to feel “unwelcome, objectionable or not accepted, desired, or solicited.”
“I’m a Christ follower, and I seek to glorify God in all that I do,” Carpenter revealed. “My faith is really integral to me and to my business and has ultimately shaped my perspective on marriage.”
“As a Christian, [she] believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, and as such, she can only create photography that celebrates marriages between one man and one woman, and that’s what gets her in trouble with the state of New York when they should be respecting artists’ freedom,” stated Kate Anderson, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) senior counsel.
“I’m facing pretty severe threats from New York State, which are really scary,” Carpenter expressed when she announced her lawsuit in 2021. “It’s $100,000 fines, it’s jail time, it’s ultimately the closure of my business, and as an entrepreneur, that’s extremely terrifying, knowing that my livelihood could be stripped out from under me because I’m being forced to create a message that I disagree with.”
“The state of New York not only requires Emily to create art that violates her core convictions, but the state of New York won’t even let her speak about her religious beliefs and how they impact her business, particularly her religious beliefs about marriage on her own website. That’s an egregious problem to say that she can’t even talk about her own beliefs on her own website without facing significant penalties, even jail time,” Anderson emphasized.
“I’m filing a lawsuit with the state of New York because I feel like I have no other options, really. The only options I have are to violate my faith, violate the law or close down my business, and none of those feel like viable options,” Carpenter explained. “I’m moving forward with this for those reasons, in hopes that all artists would be free to choose the messages that they promote.”
However, a New York lower court ruled against Carpenter in 2021. Two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of free speech in 303 Creative v. Elenis. This case involved artist Lorie Smith, who started her own design studio, 303 Creative, in 2012. As she was looking to get involved with designing wedding websites, she realized a Colorado law would require her to provide the same website design services to same-sex couples. She sued the state of Colorado, and the Supreme Court ruled in her favor, causing Colorado officials to pay her $1.5 million in attorney fees.
This free speech victory prompted the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revisit Carpenter’s case, returning it to the lower court. The lower court ruled that New York’s laws directly violated the principles the Supreme Court decided on in 303 Creative v. Elenis.
“As the Supreme Court reaffirmed in 303 Creative, the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” declared ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart. “The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee’s freedom to express her own beliefs as she continues to serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs. New Yorkers can now enjoy the freedom to create and express themselves, a freedom that protects all Americans regardless of their views.”
“While I want my own free speech protected as an artist, that’s something I would want for everybody,” Carpenter pointed out. “It’s going so much further than just me, just photographers. It’s all creative professionals having their speech protected, which unquestionably has been protected by the First Amendment. You should not be banished from the marketplace based on religious convictions.”
Government is there to take your money and make you sad.