Federal court dismisses Elmira photographer's lawsuit over NY anti-discrimination laws

An Elmira photographer who feared she would be punished for refusing to shoot same-sex weddings due to her religious beliefs has lost a legal challenge to New York's anti-discrimination laws.

With assistance from the Alliance Defending Freedom, photographer Emilee Carpenter earlier this year filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming the requirement — if she photographs weddings between a man and a woman she must do likewise for same-sex couples — violates her Christian beliefs and constitutional rights.

The suit specifically named the state Attorney General's Office and Attorney General Letitia James in her capacity as the primary enforcer of the state's anti-discrimination laws.

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Also named as codefendants are the commissioner of the state Division of Human Rights and Chemung County District Attorney Weeden Wetmore.

But in a ruling released this week, U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. concluded Carpenter's complaint has no merit.

Read full court decision here:

"The Court concludes that New York has a compelling interest in ensuring that individuals, without regard to sexual orientation, have equal access to publicly available goods and services, and that the Accommodation clause is narrowly tailored, as applied to Plaintiff, to serve that interest," Geraci wrote.

"New York’s public accommodation laws are neutral. By only bringing an as-applied challenge, Plaintiff virtually concedes that the laws are facially neutral," he continued. "She raises no non-conclusory factual allegations that the laws were enacted with any kind of religious (or anti-religious) motivation."

Why did Carpenter sue?

Carpenter, a 2016 graduate of Mansfield University, said she's gotten multiple requests from same-sex couples to photograph their weddings.

She fears she will be penalized for not honoring those requests by state agencies authorized to enforce anti-discrimination laws.

Those penalties can include fines of up to $100,000, a revoked business license, and up to a year in jail, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based conservative Christian nonprofit advocacy group that says its mission is to defend religious freedom.

Carpenter said she has not yet been threatened with any punitive action by the state, but wanted to challenge the constitutionality of New York's laws before that happened.

The case is similar in some respects to a highly publicized situation in Colorado in 2012, when a Christian baker refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

In that instance, the couple sued Masterpiece Bakeshop and owner Jack Phillips for discrimination, and after a long court battle, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in Phillips' favor.

Court ruling cheered by Attorney General James, others

State Attorney General James hailed Geraci's ruling, claiming Carpenter's argument the law violates her rights was wrong.

“This court decision is a huge victory in our pursuit to ensure that every New Yorker has equal access and equal protections under the law,” James said in a news release. “The LGBTQ+ community is an integral part of New York, and no New Yorker should be excluded or turned away from a business or denied a service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity."

The court ruling dismissing Carpenter's lawsuits was also applauded by LGBTQ advocacy groups, and by codefendant the state Division of Human Rights.

"The New York State Human Rights Law makes clear that a New Yorker’s sexual orientation or gender identity cannot be a barrier to accessing public places, services and businesses,” said Acting Commissioner Maria Imperial. "The Division of Human Rights remains committed to shielding LGBTQ+ New Yorkers from unlawful discrimination and holding bad actors accountable for their discriminatory behavior.”

Carpenter, Alliance Defending Freedom disappointed by decision

Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom are already planning to ask the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review Geraci's ruling.

They say issues in the Carpenter situation are similar to another legal case the alliance is handling, 303 Creative v. Elenis, in which a court ruled, in the ADF's opinion, that the government can compel Colorado web designer and graphic artist Lorie Smith to speak messages with which she disagrees because she creates “custom and unique” expression.

“The court’s decision continues down a dangerous path of the government compelling artists to speak messages that violate their religious beliefs — or imposing steep fines, closing their businesses, or throwing them in jail,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “Artists like Emilee and Lorie Smith in Colorado are protected under the Constitution to freely live and work according to their religious beliefs."

Carpenter, meanwhile, said she's not trying to take away anyone else's rights, but is only trying to protect her own.

Carpenter hopes the higher court agrees.

"The state shouldn’t be able to silence or punish me for living out my convictions," she said. "I serve clients from all backgrounds, but the government is attempting to tell me what to say, what not to say, and what to create based on its beliefs, not mine.

"The government cannot force a Muslim vocalist to sing for an Easter service or a pro-choice web designer to create pro-life websites," Carpenter said. "I look forward to appealing the court’s decision and standing for the freedom of all artists to choose the stories they tell."

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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira photographer lawsuit over NY anti-discrimination laws dismissed