Christian Photographers Can't Ignore Gay Clients

Christian Photographers Can't Ignore Gay Clients A Christian-owned photography studio violated anti-discrimination laws by refusing to take pictures for a gay couple's commitment ceremony, the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled. Elane Photography had argued that the First Amendment and New Mexico's Religious Freedom Restoration Act empowered it to refuse service. "Elane Photography avoids addressing the critical factor that a photography business does offer its goods or services to the general public as part of modern commercial activity," Judge Timothy Garcia wrote for the court. " The studio claimed that it did not discriminate, but that its policy and the beliefs of its owners prevent it from photographing a marriage that defines it as anything other than between a man and a woman. "Willock isn't included in the definition of a 'government agency' under the NMRFRA, and this statute was not meant to apply in suits between private litigants," Garcia wrote. The New Mexico Human Rights Act expansively defines a public accommodation as any establishment which provides or offers its services, facilities, accommodations or goods to the public, according to the court. A judge with Bernalillo County District Court rejected Elane's appeal, leading the studio to take its case to the Court of Appeals. Head photographer Elaine Huguenin owns the studio with her husband Jonathan. When Willock's partner sent Elane an email the next day without disclosing her sexual orientation, she received a response with pricing information and an offer to meet. Though the state law may provide broader protection, Wechsler disagreed that it would have violated Elane's rights to make it attend Willock's ceremony. "Nothing in the facts indicates that when Elane Photography declined the job Elaine knew that there was any religious aspect to the ceremony she was asked to attend. Though the 2nd Circuit held in 2006 that the federal version of the statute applied to a suit between two private parties, the judges said they "could not find a single court holding that supported its novel application. In a separate concurring opinion, Judge James Wechsler also addressed the difference between New Mexico and federal human rights laws. "Elane Photography's owners are Christians who believe that marriage is a sacred union of one man and one woman," the opinion states. The commission ultimately found that this conduct violated state anti-discrimination laws and that Elane owed Willock more than $6,600 in attorneys' fees. Elane also misapplied the meaning of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, according to the panel, which noted that it is clearly limited in scope to when a government agency has restricted a person's freedom of religion. Garcia countered, however, that the studio showcased its discriminatory policy in its separate emails with Willock and her partner. Christian Photographers Can't Ignore Gay Clients Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 12/06/2012