A Christian photographer recently scored a major victory for religious liberty when the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled Louisville officials had violated her First Amendment rights.
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Chelsey Nelson, the photographer in question, challenged a law she said would mandate that she violate her conscience on traditional marriage. While she didn’t face any direct punishment or threat, she took preemptive action against the ordinance in an attempt to prevent future issues.
“Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Chelsey Nelson and her photography studio filed the lawsuit Chelsey Nelson Photography v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government in 2019 because Louisville’s law prohibited Nelson from expressing her views on marriage on her studio’s website and threatened to compel her to create photographs and blogs celebrating a message about marriage she does not believe,” a press release explained.
Nelson told CBN News she was a young mom trying to figure out business and raise her family when she found herself feeling compelled to speak up.
“I’m a Christian, so that impacts every aspect of my life, not just on Sunday morning, when I’m at church — absolutely everything,” she said. “And I was very aware at the time of even people like Jack Phillips in the news under fire for just trying to quietly operate their business in a way that was consistent with their Christian convictions.”
Nelson said she wanted to operate her business in alignment with the Lord while also growing in a way that comported with rules and regulations.
“I became aware of this ordinance in Louisville and was really concerned that I might be under … $10,000 fines at any moment for being reported if I were just simply open about what messages I’m willing to celebrate … marriage between a man and a woman for a lifetime only and nothing outside of that,” she said.
Bryan Neihart, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal firm, discussed the six-year-long litigation journey Nelson has been on, expressing his dismay over the ordinance in question.
“The fundamental premise of Chelsea’s lawsuit is that the government can’t force Americans to say something they don’t believe,” he told CBN News. “And Louisville passed a law that it interpreted to require Chelsea to create photographs and blogs celebrating a view of marriage that contradicted her faith.”
Neihart continued, “And the law had two different features. One, it compelled her to create speech that violated her beliefs. … It also prohibited her from even putting on her own website, ‘This is my Christian beliefs, this is what I believe about marriage, and I only create photographs and blogs consistent with that belief.’”
The lawyer said Nelson’s case was similar to 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a Supreme Court battle that concluded in 2023. Lorie Smith, a graphic and web designer who runs 303 Creative, won in the 6-3 decision after claiming Colorado was censoring her Christian beliefs.
Despite that victory, similar laws continue to exist in locations across the U.S.
“There are laws like Louisville’s across the country that compelled artists to create artwork that violated their religious beliefs,” Neihart said. “And, in 2023, the Supreme Court said that those laws, when they’re applied to speech, violate the First Amendment.”
Nelson encountered a court that followed that same blueprint in this case. Despite the victory, she said the battle hasn’t been easy.
“To be honest, it was really difficult at first,” she said. “People I thought were friends, thought were fellow believers, essentially disowned me for trying to seek clarity in this, and standing for what I believe the Bible is not quiet about, but very loud and clear about. So that part was difficult.”
Nelson wasn’t surprised by non-Christians responding negatively, as they hold another belief system and worldview. Still, she wishes they’d look differently at the issue.
“I wish more of them would understand … that I’m actually fighting for their right to create consistent with their beliefs, even though it’s a separate worldview and belief system from my own,” she said. “But, in the end, the Lord helped me grow a very thick skin and He really used my children as a motivation.”
Nelson said her “witness” to her kids is important and that she knows they will one day grow up and look back at how their mother boldly took a stand, fearing God more than man.
“That was an incredible inspiration to me,” she said. “I’ll be grateful, hopefully, when one day they actually know what’s been going on these past six years, which they know nothing about at the moment — that their mom was faithful.”
Neihart said the decision in favor of Nelson is “significant…for a couple of reasons.”
“The district court here in Kentucky did a great job of explaining why photography is speech,” he said, noting his client is also entitled to nominal damages over the fact Nelson’s speech was “chilled.”
“Nominal damages are a way to hold governments accountable when they violate constitutional rights,” Neihart said. “And then the final point is that the district court permanently enjoins, meaning permanently prevents, Louisville from enforcing its law against Chelsea to compel her to create a message that violates her belief.”
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