NM State Supreme Court To Hear Case Of Photographer Who Refused Gay Wedding

Six years ago a New Mexico photography business refused to photograph a lesbian wedding, resulting in fines from the state Human Rights Commission and the martyrdom of the company to anti-gay groups nationwide. On Friday the New Mexico Supreme Court agreed to hear the company's appeal from the Alliance Defense Fund.

"Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs," ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence said in a statement. Elaine Huguenin, the company's head photographer, had declined the request to help the two women "celebrate" the event because her and her husband's Christian beliefs are in conflict with the message the ceremony would have sent out. The two women found someone else to photograph their ceremony.

"We trust the New Mexico Supreme Court will agree because the government should not be allowed to force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience," added Lorence, senior vice-president of the Office of Strategic Initiatives for ADF at its Washington, D.C., Regional Service Center. "The Constitution clearly prohibits the state from forcing unwilling artists to advance a message with which they disagree."

The New Mexico case has been cited in anti-gay marriage campaigns in every state and is often featured in anti-gay web and newspaper ads.