A Christian business owner in New York continues her fight to operate according to her religious beliefs.
Emilee Carpenter is a New York-based photographer targeting a state law she says forces her to create messages that violate her beliefs – specifically, those regarding same-sex “weddings.” Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse is an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the law firm representing Carpenter.
“Unfortunately, the New York District Court has said that the government can compel her to speak messages that she disagrees with because her art is a product of her unique artistic style and vision,” the attorney explains. “That doesn’t square with the First Amendment – so we’ve appealed to the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asking them to vindicate Emilee’s fundamental right to freely live and work according to her beliefs.”
This is a pre-enforcement challenge, meaning Carpenter has not yet been brought up on charges. Still, New York still expects Carpenter and others to comply.
“She faces up to $100,000 fines, a revoked business license, and could be thrown in jail for up to a year under this law,” explains Widmalm-Delphonse. “So, we went to court on her behalf because no government should have the unchecked power to violate these basic rights.”
It’s up in the air as to when the Second Circuit may take up the case, but ADF hopes to get a time soon as to “vindicate her rights.”
“Everyone should care about this, no matter what side of an issue you land on,” says Widmalm-Delphonse. “This case is actually similar to another case in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals called 303 Creative v. Elenis.”
In that case, says the attorney, the Tenth Circuit came to the unprecedented conclusion that a graphic designer could be forced to speak messages that she disagrees with because her art is custom and unique.
“[But] again, that doesn’t square with the First Amendment,” the ADF attorney emphasizes, “and so we filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States asking them to overturn the Tenth Circuit decision.”
As of now, Carpenter is operating her business, but under what ADF calls these “draconian threats” of fines, loss of license, and jail time.
“And she has been forced to restrict speech,” adds Widmalm-Delphonse. “She can’t speak freely about her beliefs or about the services that she’s willing to provide on her website or in person to her customers.
“So even though she’s able to operate her business, the law’s affecting her right now and violating her freedom of speech right now.”
As ADF explains in the filed complaint, the laws of the state of New York give Carpenter a “multiple-choice test with only bad answers”: violate the law, ignore her faith, or end her business. But the First and Fourteenth Amendments, says the legal firm, give her another option: “none of the above.”
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Copyright American Family News. Reprinted with permission.
New York district court “people” will have nothing when God disperses them to hell for abominations against his people. satan will try everything to get more members. Look how many people believe they are homosexuals because our government says its now ok. sexual perversion is sexual perversion no matter how nice the participants are or how nice they act. Big difference between what this government thinks and what God says ” we must be”.
Sodomites believe that forcing everyone to celebrate their sickness makes them “normal”. They claim that, because her “art” is “custom and unique”, she can be FORCED to “speak messages that she disagrees with.”
When a group of perverts can FORCE you to speak messages you disagree with, freedom of speech is at an end. And so is the American way of life.
WHEN they compel you to speak what ever THEY DEMAND< there is no longer ANY FREe speech.. LET ALONE FREE THOUGHT.
Since the Democrat party condones stealing, looting murder and violence, everything that is antithetical to Christianity, it looks like, according to the liberals in New York, we Christians should be forced to steal, loot, murder and be violent toward innocent people. Our world is upside down, Trying to force honest people to do the wrong thing. The morally depraved Democrats.
James 2:26
“ Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”,,,and thus, so is the breath of good works soon extinguished if the works come not from Faith and Trust in God, but become works from and of, the faithless Democrat Devils of American consumption.
Works inspired by the Creator are created to be lasting (like Energy Independence) and come not with the price always demanded when they come from the great CONSUMER of all. Thank the faithless Secular Socialists Democrats for our ballooning national debt, the costs we now bear being created by those who have faith in the great CONSUMER, and the greedy, envious, selfish, lessor Angels of our nature. Lying is their native tongue, and their currency is piled up back breaking American debt and worthless American money no longer backed by “full FAITH and credit” of a faithless financial and morally bankrupt U.S. government whose leaders are incapable of governing their greed and lust for power let alone lead a PEOPLE designed only for SELF-government. Speaking the truths that set men free is party banded from their vernacular.
If it were Muslim-based, it wouldn’t be an issue, would it???
Nope. Mudslimes seem to NEVER GET sued by the Alphabet soup brigade….