A prominent Christian legal organization representing a New Mexico
photographer that was was recently forced by the state Supreme Court to
‘compromise … to accommodate’ requests to shoot homosexual dedication
ceremonies is warning that similar cases are presenting a “real threat”
to Christians across the country.
As previously reported, Elane Huguenin and her husband Jon, who operate run Elane Photography in Albuquerque, found themselves having to answer to the New Mexico Human Rights Commission in 2006 when they turned down a lesbian who wanted Elane to photograph her upcoming ceremony with her partner.
The Commission ruled against Huguenin in 2008, stating that she was guilty of violating the state’s “sexual orientation” discrimination law, which prohibits “any person in a public accommodation to make a distinction, directly or indirectly, in offering or refusing to offer its services … to any person because of … sexual orientation.” The Commission then ordered the photographer to pay nearly $7,000 in fines for refusing to shoot the ceremony.
Huguenin appealed the decision in December 2009, arguing that forcing her to go against her beliefs regarding homosexuality would be like forcing African Americans to photograph Klu Klux Klan members. Last June, the Mexico State Court of Appeals released a 45-page opinion upholding the guilty verdict.
"The owners of Elane Photography must accept the reasonable regulations and restrictions imposed upon the conduct of their commercial enterprise despite their personal religious beliefs that may conflict with these government interests,” Judge Tim Garcia wrote on behalf of the panel. “The Klu-Klux-Klan is not a protected class. Sexual orientation, however, is protected.”
The Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) then appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously this month that Huguenin must shoot same-sex ceremonies no matter how sincere her convictions may be. Justice Richard C. Bosson, who wrote a concurring opinion, asserted that the Huguenins may freely live out their faith privately, but when it comes to running a public business, they will have to “pay the price” and check their Christian convictions at the door.
“The Huguenins are free to think, to say, to believe, as they wish; they may pray to the God of their choice and follow those commandments in their personal lives wherever they lead. The Constitution protects the Huguenins in that respect and much more,” he wrote. “But there is a price, one that we all have to pay somewhere in our civic life.”
Continued
As previously reported, Elane Huguenin and her husband Jon, who operate run Elane Photography in Albuquerque, found themselves having to answer to the New Mexico Human Rights Commission in 2006 when they turned down a lesbian who wanted Elane to photograph her upcoming ceremony with her partner.
The Commission ruled against Huguenin in 2008, stating that she was guilty of violating the state’s “sexual orientation” discrimination law, which prohibits “any person in a public accommodation to make a distinction, directly or indirectly, in offering or refusing to offer its services … to any person because of … sexual orientation.” The Commission then ordered the photographer to pay nearly $7,000 in fines for refusing to shoot the ceremony.
Huguenin appealed the decision in December 2009, arguing that forcing her to go against her beliefs regarding homosexuality would be like forcing African Americans to photograph Klu Klux Klan members. Last June, the Mexico State Court of Appeals released a 45-page opinion upholding the guilty verdict.
"The owners of Elane Photography must accept the reasonable regulations and restrictions imposed upon the conduct of their commercial enterprise despite their personal religious beliefs that may conflict with these government interests,” Judge Tim Garcia wrote on behalf of the panel. “The Klu-Klux-Klan is not a protected class. Sexual orientation, however, is protected.”
The Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) then appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously this month that Huguenin must shoot same-sex ceremonies no matter how sincere her convictions may be. Justice Richard C. Bosson, who wrote a concurring opinion, asserted that the Huguenins may freely live out their faith privately, but when it comes to running a public business, they will have to “pay the price” and check their Christian convictions at the door.
“The Huguenins are free to think, to say, to believe, as they wish; they may pray to the God of their choice and follow those commandments in their personal lives wherever they lead. The Constitution protects the Huguenins in that respect and much more,” he wrote. “But there is a price, one that we all have to pay somewhere in our civic life.”
Continued
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