New York Wedding Photographer Won’t Share Her Beliefs About Marriage Because Speaking Out Could Put Her in Jail

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Daily Signal

ORLANDO, Fla.—Emilee Carpenter, a Christian wedding photographer, had to turn to her lawyer when asked about her religious beliefs about marriage because New York law prevents her from speaking about those beliefs in conjunction with her business.

“So New York’s law is actually so severe, I think I need to pass this over to my attorney, Kellie [Fiedorek], because it actually dictates what I am and am not able to publicly say, which is part of the scare in this law,” Carpenter said when The Daily Signal asked about her views on marriage.

Carpenter and Fiedorek sat down last week with The Daily Signal at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Orlando to discuss the wedding photographer’s lawsuit challenging a New York law compelling her to speak in favor of same-sex weddings.

Carpenter, who is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit challenging New York Executive Law Section 296.2(a). The law bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which New York interprets as forcing commercial photographers who photograph opposite-sex weddings to offer their artistic services for same-sex weddings. The law also bars Carpenter from publishing any notice “to the effect that … the patronage … of any person … is unwelcome.”