Kentucky city to pay $800k in same-sex wedding discrimination case
A photographer claimed anti-discrimination laws would force her to go against her beliefs (Getty Images)
A Kentucky city will pay $800,000 in legal fees to a photographer who challenged its LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination law in a same-sex wedding case.
Chelsey Nelson sued Louisville in 2019, arguing the city’s Fairness Ordinance could force her to create content celebrating marriages that conflict with her religious beliefs.
The case, backed by conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, ran for several years before the city agreed to a settlement covering Nelson’s legal costs.
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A federal judge had previously ruled that the ordinance unlawfully restricted Nelson’s ability to state she would not photograph same-sex weddings, awarding her $1 in damages.
Louisville officials said the settlement ends the legal dispute but does not change the Fairness Ordinance, which still bans discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
The case relied in part on a recent US Supreme Court ruling involving a business owner who refused to provide services for same-sex weddings on religious grounds.
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