Victory for Christian Photographer Who Refused Same-Sex Weddings

Lawson brought her case before the court after she shut down her photography business over concerns of being sued.

The key to victory in this is case was the fact that Lawson’s business does not have a physical storefront.  The judge ruled that since it did not have a storefront, it “is not a public place of accommodation or amusement.”

“The court found and the city and state have now agreed that creative professionals without storefronts can’t be punished under public accommodation laws for exercising their artistic freedom because those laws simply don’t apply to them,” said Lawson’s attorney, Jonathan Scruggs of Alliance Defending Freedom.

In 2016, Lawson put a statement on her website saying she would not photograph same-sex marriages or pro-abortion groups because of her Christian faith.

After losing a client, Lawson filed a pre-enforcement challenge to see if the anti-discrimination laws did indeed apply to her.

On her website she says, “Now if there are things that I strive to portray, it stands to reason there are things I can’t portray either. My photographs and words can’t contradict my beliefs.”