The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has agreed to pay $800,000 in attorneys’ fees to Christian photographer and blogger Chelsey Nelson, ending a six-year legal battle over her right to operate her business according to her faith. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys filed the lawsuit in 2019 after Louisville’s ordinance threatened to force Nelson to create photographs and written content celebrating same-sex marriage — a message that conflicts with her biblical beliefs about marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
The city also attempted to silence her from expressing her views on marriage on her studio’s website. In a decisive victory, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled that the ordinance violated Nelson’s First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion. The court issued a permanent injunction preventing Louisville from enforcing the law against her and ordered the city to pay nominal damages.
ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart said: “The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe. For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs. Louisville’s threats contradicted bedrock First Amendment principles which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive.”
The ruling builds directly on the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, which affirmed that the government cannot compel artists and creators to express messages they disagree with.This settlement sends a clear message that public officials cannot punish Christians for living and working consistently with their faith. It protects the fundamental right of believers to decline creating speech that contradicts their deeply held convictions on marriage and family.