A New Mexico husband-and-wife photography company will appeal a court order forcing them to pay $6,600 for refusing an assignment to take photos at a same-sex marriage ceremony.
In 2006, Elaine and Jon Huguenin, co-owners of Elane Photography in Albuquerque, declined to photograph a "commitment ceremony" between a lesbian couple in Taos. Neither marriage nor civil unions between members of the same sex are legal in New Mexico. The Huguenins acknowledged that they had turned down the assignment because of their Christian beliefs.
Along with hiring another photographer, the lesbian couple filed a discrimination complaint against the Huguenins with the New Mexico Human Rights Commission. After a one-day trial, the Commission issued a court order finding that Elane Photography had engaged in "sexual orientation" discrimination and ordering them to pay the lesbian couple's $6,637.94 in attorneys' fees.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a religious rights advocacy group, has appealed the decision. "Christians in the marketplace should not be subject to predatory legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence in a press release. "American small business owners do not surrender their constitutional rights at the marketplace gate, nor can the government make people choose between their faith and their livelihood."
Also See:
A Financial Upside to Gay Marriage?
Same-Sex Marriage in the US (Civil Liberties)
Congressman Changes Mind on Gay Rights
Comments
Absolutely out of focus. Seems more and more like the gay “marriage” stuff is less about civil rights and more about forcing their beliefs on those who disagree. I think that civil unions between homosexuals are a civil right based on the Constitution but that doesn’t mean I have to personally agree with it…sueing for beliefs? Give me a break.
Why is marriage even being mentioned? The couple has a commitment cerimony, same-sex marriage is not legal in their state.
We’ve already been down the road of allowing businesses to descriminate against the public, why do we want to go back?
Should businesses be allowed to discriminate against Jews, Christians, Blacks, or women because of the business owners religious beliefs? Society says, “No.”
I was under the impression that this case only made it as far as it did because the photographers backed out the day of the ceremony. I can sympathize with them for not wanting to go through with it if it went against their beliefs, but I would be mad as all hell too if someone backed out of taking pictures ON the day of an event for non-emergency purposes.
It should go without saying that a person should be allowed to marry whomever they choose. Until the right-wing, religious fanatics in this country stop trying to control everybody else and force their “morals” down the throat of the country, there can be no real freedom in the United States. I invite you to my web pages devoted to raising awareness on this puritan attack on our freedom: http://freethegods.blogspot.com/2009/06/san-franciscos-gay-pride-parade.html
I am a gay Canadian male. I have been with my loved one for 39 years. I have been legally married to my loved one since 2005. When we got married, Canada did not fall apart. Life went on as usual. Gay marriage does not destroy the lives of straights. Only Americans would contemplate this issue to this depth. Canadians and Europeans simply accept this gay marriage issue as a natural turn of events. It is the Americans who worry about this. Why is this?
How pathetic is this? Soon we’ll have Jewish owned businesses not serving Arabs and Muslim businesses not serving Christians.
I’m sorry, I live in a big old grown up world that seeks progress. I’m not going to return to the world of segregation, these people need to grow up.
They need to grow up indeed. What a nerve to back out at the last minute too. A way of making a statement to the gay gals to ruin their day. They were sued because they were stupid. Do you mean to tell me their religion does not allow them to take pics of gay people. Wow is all I can say!! This is as bad as it gets america. Really I agree with another blogger…….america needs to grow up!!!
These morons won’t photograph gay people but I’m sure they’d have no problem photographing atheists, divorcees, adulterers, people who work on the Sabbath and all the other people committing “sins” from the Bible. Why do Christians always beat up on gay sinners but never all the other sinners???