This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/metro-government/2026/03/24/louisville-settlement-wedding-photographer-religious-freedoms-lawsuit/89306298007/
and if you wish to take away this text from our website please contact us
Louisville Metro Government has agreed to pay $800,000 to cowl lawyer charges for a Louisville photographer who efficiently claimed in a 2019 lawsuit {that a} metropolis regulation violated her First Amendment rights, court docket data present.
Christian nonprofit authorized group Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Chelsey Nelson within the case, introduced the settlement in a March 24 news release.
The settlement marks the tip of the years-long case, which commenced after Nelson, a marriage photographer and proprietor of Chelsey Nelson Photography, claimed Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance infringed on her constitutional rights as a Christian as a result of it might drive her to tackle same-sex marriage ceremony assignments towards her spiritual beliefs.
“The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart stated within the information launch. “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.”
In a March 24 assertion, Matt Mudd, press secretary for Mayor Craig Greenberg’s workplace, stated the settlement ends the litigation and solely offers for lawyer charges.
“We are committed to fully enforcing Louisville’s anti-discrimination ordinances, including the Fairness Ordinance, which bans discrimination against LGBTQ people,” Mudd stated.
In the 2019 lawsuit, filed within the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Nelson claimed Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance might require her to {photograph} same-sex weddings and forestall her from sharing her views on marriage on her studio’s web site. The ordinance, handed in 1999, prohibits discrimination based mostly on sexual orientation and gender id in housing, public lodging and employment.
In a remaining judgement filed in October, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton stored in place a everlasting injunction that bars the town from implementing the regulation towards Nelson and ordered the town to pay Nelson $1 in nominal damages, that are usually small, symbolic funds acknowledging the plaintiff has suffered a authorized incorrect.
The settlement introduced March 24 resolves the problem of the ADF attorneys’ charges, prices and bills. The nonprofit authorized group touts itself as a defender of free speech and non secular freedom.
ADF additionally represented former University of Louisville professor Allan Josephson, who claimed in a 2019 lawsuit that he was demoted and fired after he spoke out towards youth gender transitions at a Heritage Foundation occasion. That lawsuit was settled in 2025 for $1.6 million, The Courier Journal reported.
This story has been up to date to replicate Louisville agreed to the settlement.
Killian Baarlaer covers Louisville Metro Government. Reach him at [email protected] or @bkillian72 on X.
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/metro-government/2026/03/24/louisville-settlement-wedding-photographer-religious-freedoms-lawsuit/89306298007/
and if you wish to take away this text from our website please contact us
