What started as a quiet local story in Louisville, Kentucky is quickly becoming national news. Early Saturday morning, USA Today published an opinion piece written by wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson in which she proclaimed herself a victim of Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance.
In her article, Nelson introduces herself and her case through positive messages of what marriage means to her, repeatedly using words like “love,” “joy,” “awe,” and “passion.” She speaks of the importance of a strong relationship with the couples she photographs as any other photographer would:
On their wedding day, they probably spend more time with me than anyone else. I even do my initial consultations in my home. At my kitchen table over cookies, I get to hear about them and their dreams for the future as we plan how to capture their big day. Then, we schedule an engagement session to make sure they’re comfortable in front of my camera. (Most of us aren’t used to a photographer following us around all day, right?)
Chelsey Nelson's opinion article was published on USA Today on November 23, 2019
She goes on to admit that her strong values about marriage prevent her from photographing just any wedding ceremony:
Because marriage is so important to me, I’m careful to photograph and blog about each of these solemn ceremonies in a way that reflects my views of marriage... to show others that marriage really is worth pursuing… For example, I can’t celebrate a wedding that devalues how seriously I take marriage — like a heavily themed Halloween or zombie-themed wedding.
It seems fair enough. It’s likely that many photographers would avoid a gimmicky zombie-themed wedding, though gimmicks are obviously not her only worry when it comes to photographing what she perceives as non-traditional weddings. In the opinion piece, Nelson repeatedly dances around her true concern, but to anyone with half a brain cell and an awareness of recent current events, it’s all too clear. For Nelson, LGBTQ weddings are public enemy number one and in a media environment that's increasingly focused on spin, Nelson portrays herself as a victim:
[A] Louisville, Kentucky law threatens me with damages if I stay true to my beliefs about marriage. Actually, the law won’t even let me explain some of my religious beliefs about marriage, whether on my studio’s website, social media, or directly to couples who may want to work with me. I also can’t explain how some of my religious beliefs affect which weddings I celebrate through my photography.
Here's some background information on the Louisville law to which Nelson is referring. Passed in 1999, the Louisville Fairness Ordinance was a major victory for historically marginalized communities, establishing protections for the LGBTQ community (among others) from discrimination:
It is the policy of the Metro Government to safeguard all individuals within Jefferson County from discrimination in certain contexts because of race, color, religion, national origin, familial status, age, disability, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Certain practices must be prohibited within the areas of employment, housing, public accommodation, resort or amusement as necessary to protect individual’s personal dignity and insure freedom from humiliation; to make available to Jefferson County all full productive capacities; to secure Jefferson County against strife and unrest which would menace its democratic institutions; and to preserve the public safety, health and general welfare. (Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, Chapter 92)
The ordinance goes on to define discrimination as “any direct or indirect act or practice of exclusion, restriction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or any other act or practice of differentiation or preference in the treatment of a person or persons, or the aiding, abetting, inciting, coercing, or compelling thereof made unlawful under this chapter.” Clear enough.
Because Chelsey Nelson Photography provides goods and services to the general public, her business is categorized as a Place of Public Accommodation, Resort, or Amusement. In refusing her services to anyone because of their sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation, Nelson would certainly be breaking the law. What’s more, the ordinance prohibits businesses from advertising in any way (website, social media or otherwise) that they plan to deny service to anyone in the future because of discriminatory practices or beliefs.
So yes, if Nelson can’t tell the world that she doesn’t want to service the LGBTQ community and she can’t legally turn the LGBTQ community away if they attempt to contract her for weddings, then she’s a bigot up a creek without a paddle.
While her manifesto in USA Today provides a seemingly heartfelt and non-confrontational explanation of her beliefs regarding marriage, a lawsuit filed against the city of Louisville on November 19th makes her self-justified bigotry crystal clear. With the assistance of legal representation provided by Alliance Defending Freedom (a conservative Christian faith non-profit), Nelson submitted fifty-three pages to argue that by enforcing the Fairness Ordinance, Louisville is actually violating her religious freedoms.
Here are some of the highlights of the suit:
- Nelson believes that by forbidding her from proclaiming her discriminatory practices against LGBTQ weddings, she is being forced to violate the biblical command to love her neighbor through honesty. (Section 79)
- Nelson believes that some people have a calling from God to create art and that she is one of those people. (Sections 83 and 84)
- Nelson wants to turn down any requests for services that require her to use her God-given talents to promote immorality, dishonor to God, or anything contrary to her religious beliefs. (Section 187) These requests are further characterized as same-sex, polygamous, open marriages, or “services that demean others, devalue God’s creation, condone racism, sexually objectify someone, celebrate pornography or obscenity, praise vulgarity, or contradict biblical principles.” (Sections 190-192)
- It’s not just LGBTQ weddings that pose a problem. Nelson is fighting for her right to turn down zombie or Game of Thrones-themed weddings as well. (Section 206)
A screenshot of Alliance Defending Freedom's blog about Chelsey Nelson
There’s a lot to unpack there, and I’ll let you explore it in its mind-numbing depth on your own, but any members of the LGBTQ community hoping to hire Chelsea Nelson for their wedding photography anyway shouldn’t despair. Nelson asserts she is happy to work with anyone regardless of their race, religion, or sexual orientation provided that a few specific criteria are met:
...Chelsey will happily work with and provide her wedding celebration services for a wedding between a homosexual man and a woman so long as the marriage is the exclusive union of that one man and one woman. Likewise, Chelsey will happily work with and provide her wedding celebration services for a wedding between a bisexual woman and a man so long as the marriage is the exclusive union of that one woman and one man. (Sections 200-202)
So, there you go. She's only opposed to homosexuality if it's unrepressed.
What are Nelson's overall goals? In both her opinion piece and her lawsuit, Nelson expresses that her ultimate desire is to either be allowed to turn away LGBTQ marriages with which she doesn’t agree or be allowed to proclaim her beliefs clearly on her website and social media to keep any would-be LGBTQ clients from attempting to hire her. As things currently stand, Nelson feels she is being forced to choose between her religion and her livelihood.
While no LGBTQ couples have approached her requiring she break the law yet (we know this because the suit is characterized as a “pre-enforcement challenge”), her suit claims the situation is inevitable. The suit specifically references Louisville as having “the 11th highest rate of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender among the fifty largest metropolitan areas in the United States.” (Section 243)
Chelsey Nelson doesn’t like those odds:
Chelsey faces a credible threat and substantial risk that she will receive requests to provide wedding celebration and boutique editing services for same-sex weddings, likely leading to prosecution under Louisville’s law. (Section 242)
After widely proclaiming her feelings toward same-sex marriage or anything else she deems “non-traditional,” I wouldn’t be so sure that the threat is all that “credible.” Everyone everywhere will now know exactly what she believes and any clients hoping to avoid discrimination will likely give her a wide berth.
I spoke with Rebecca and Charlotte (last names withheld, because even though Louisville is progressive, Kentucky was the setting for the Kim Davis debacle), an engaged couple living in Louisville, to get their perspective on the situation. They believe Chelsey Nelson is unlikely to receive LGBTQ wedding requests in the first place. Rebecca told me about their vendor search:
A lot of photographers on Instagram would have something on their bio saying 'Jesus is king,' which seemed like code for 'I won’t shoot your gay wedding.' Then, you look and see no photos of same-sex couples. I don’t know why she thinks a same-sex couple will even want to hire her. As queer people, we’re so used to being very careful. If you’re a queer couple, you’re going to find a vendor who shows publicly that they’re queer-friendly. You don't want a negative interaction as a stain on your wedding-planning experience.
Charlotte added:
If I'm going to hire you, I want to see you’ve been doing this for at least five years and that you’ve shot queer people and people of color before. I want you to know what you're doing, how to pose us as a couple (without relying on straight-gendered posing), and what to expect. I wanna see the receipts!
Based on the experience they've had living in Louisville, neither Rebecca nor Charlotte think this lawsuit is going to have any major ramifications within their city's LGBTQ community. The couple believes the article and lawsuit are a publicity stunt that will likely succeed in bringing in more business from people who have the same beliefs as Chelsey Nelson. For a business with roughly 400 Instagram followers and fewer than 150 Facebook followers, the lawsuit serves as a big opportunity to garner plenty of national attention. Adding to the publicity stunt argument is the fact that Nelson has been in business for three years and didn't choose to fight for her religious freedom to discriminate until now, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Louisville's Fairness Ordinance.
Through her widely circulated opinion piece and her now high-profile lawsuit, Chelsey Nelson seems to have found the ultimate loophole for Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance: while it is illegal to discriminate on your website and social media, it’s not illegal to tell the world that you aim to discriminate if you do it under the auspices of filing a lawsuit.
Perhaps that’s what she was after all along.
For a directory of LGBTQ friendly businesses in Louisville, Kentucky, visit https://www.fairness.org/resources/
Lead image provided by Laura Rhian Photography under Creative Commons.
In the words of the competition judge to Adam Sandler's title character in the movie Billy Madison, after Billy Madison had responded to a question with an answer that sounded superficially reasonable but lacked any substance:
'Mr Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response was there anything that could even be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.'
I honestly do not understand what the point of this article is. As a photographer, you can turn down any client anytime and without giving a reason as long as you do not have entered an agreement already. But if you're still in the early stages of meetings and negotiations, you can stop these for so many reasons. Not having a connection with your clients can be one of them. And not having a connection can be based on their believes, their life style, anything.
I think that judging people based on their believes or sexual orientation is very, very stupid, but that's not what this article is about. This is about picking and choosing you customers as a photographer.
I honestly do not understand what your political affiliation has to do with this. Stop posting flamebait. You might wake this other guy who likes to throw gender into the discussion for no other reason than to entice reactions.
I have shot one same sex wedding here in Germany, and while it was a bit unusual since it was the first time, really the only difference was two guys getting married instead of a guy and a gal. The rest was basically the same beautiful celebration as usual.
Thankfully, I'm not restricted or constricted by religious regulations or thoughts and I don't mind offering my services to anyone and so I definitely believe that one shouldn't discriminate against anyone.
Since weddings really rely on the chemistry between client and photographer, aside from the usual level of skill and professionalism, I'm sure she can at least meet with the clients and see if they hit it off so well that she can see herself shooting that wedding, even if it might not be one between man and woman.
And if they don't hit it off, either the clients will chose someone else or she will tell them that she might not be the right one for them, or at least come up with an excuse to discretely let them look elsewhere, maybe even give recommendations. Do it on an individual level, don't outright discriminate against groups of people.
And at least give herself and the clients a chance. Every wedding is different and so is every couple that comes knocking.
While I am often annoyed at illogical, annoying, stupid or whatever regulations every country/state/city imposes on their inhabitants, I don't think it's wrong for the state to prevent businesses from refusing clients based on sex, gender identification or sexual orientation, exactly because of people like her that would outright go and offer businesses that don't serve lgbtq people, reminiscent of Nazi Germany where businesses didn't serve jews, or even the US, some decades ago, where businesses didn't serve people of color or even interracial couples.
Her reasoning that she's christian also fails to acknowledge that there is a plethora of different christian churches, of which many actually are supportive of same-sex marriages nowadays. When even churches can adapt to changes in society, maybe some individuals can, too, some day.
Sadly, in the US, too many "faithful" refuse to accept anyone who is of a different church, because they are exclusionary and prideful.
In the words of the competition judge to Adam Sandler's title character in the movie Billy Madison, after Billy Madison had responded to a question with an answer that sounded superficially reasonable but lacked any substance:
'Mr Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response was there anything that could even be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.'
I disagree with you. Simply put: this photographer rejects clients based on certain criteria. Why does it matter what those criteria are? I have seen articles with advice for photographers saying: you should get to know your customers before you reach an agreement just to make sure you feel comfortable with them and they feel comfortable with you. We chastise people for hiring photographers without ever meeting them. Why do you think that is? Is it not strange that it is apparently acceptable to reject a customer because of some uneasy feeling there is no connection, but it is not OK to reject a customer based on your religious believes?
Models are told to only work with photographers that they feel comfortable with. Do we have a list of things models are allowed to feel uncomfortable about? Does it really matter why you are feeling uncomfortable? You might think it is utterly stupid to feel uncomfortable around gay people (I think so), but is it OK to tell people when to feel uncomfortable?
A number of years ago, a fellow photographer and I discussed this situation during our men's bible study. How would we handle it?
IMO, the real problem here is with Christians in business who attempt to operate as though not Christians most of the time...until something touches their own pet sin peeve. Then they get righteous all of a sudden.
It's pure secularism--not Christianity--that would say, "I have a right to do business with whomever I choose."
There is a problem with a Christian taking that stance, however: Our scripture mandates just the opposite. Rather, we should be boldly Christian in all our associations (whether they touch our pet sin peeves or not), and then just as boldly Christian with those that do. Christians are mandated never to miss the chance of an evangelistic opportunity.
It should be apparent from the moment anyone logs onto our web sites that we're Christian, proud of, and will talk about it during ALL of our business activities.
Then, if a gay couple--knowing all that beforehand--hires us anyway...well, that's just an evangelistic opportunity not to be missed.
But never fear. Most Christians aren't going to do that because it would be bad for business.
Yeah, walk the walk and lead by example.
"Christians are mandated never to miss the chance of an evangelistic opportunity." Where's that in the bible? Whilst I agree with a lot of what you've said, I don't think the mandate to "never miss an evangelistic opportunity" exists.
It's all over the New Testament. There is zero justification for cloistering oneself away from "sinners"--THAT is what you can't find in the New Testament.
In 1 Corinthians 5: "I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--
not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? ....But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people."
In 1 Peter 3: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
Nowhere can you find justification for a Christian saying, "I can't do business with those people because they're 'sinners.'" Jesus Himself provided the counter-example to that idea.
Now, a lot of people don't want to deal with proselytizing. That's okay, as long as you've made it clear that proselytizing is what Christians do, and hiring you means they're going to get it.
Walk into a Hobby Lobby, and you hear Christian music in the background. Walk into my studio, and you hear Christian music in the background.
But as I said, most Christian businesses want to play stealth with their beliefs until someone pushes their particular button. That's a bunch of horse manure.
Sorry mate, too many straw men in that for me to even start responding. I'll leave it at that.
Whatever the reason for all of this, I'd say the problem is a lack of formal distinction of (type of) business/services provided.
I'm all against discrimination based on whatever, but using anti-discrimination to force 'optional, semi-artistic semi-personal' services like wedding photography is just nonsense.
While I probably don't share any of her world views, being a wedding photographer (you know, taking pictures with real, non-anonymous people in their private and still one of the most divisive setting) is not like running a restaurant or selling the cake. You do get more involved, get to know the people, make sure they are comfortable with you (shouldn't you be with them too?) and you just don't sell the pictures on the street to anyone - clients choose you and you choose clients and only then everybody's happy (and even then not always).
Also why would anyone want a wedding photographer that somehow 'feels' against their relationship for whatever reason is beyond me.
Of course it's not easy to define what would constitute 'more personal, not over the counter and non-essential business' where the provider would be entitled to consider own preferences about the clients and not be against the law. But as usual, rules and laws coming from extremes screw the way of life 'regular common sense folk' ;)
Marriage is sacred, religion is sacred, forcing someone to violate their religious beliefs is wrong.
This is well written and I think I see what you are saying. What is considered marriage among human kind isn't always marriage in the eyes of God. I agree with that.
I agree. The bible is very clear about what relationships God has joined in what we call "marriage", starting from the beginning when setting up Adam and Eve's relationship, then as confirmed by Jesus, part of which was quoted by Travis McGee.
Other kinds of relationships don't match the biblical understanding of "marriage", even if they are defined by law as a marriage.
The bible seems pretty clear about what two becoming one, that God has joined, that no-one should "put asunder", is about. The English language has called that "marriage" for a long time, which is now changing as the English language often does, but we know what it is no matter what you name it.
Not sure what your problem with a guy marrying his brother's widow is, or how that's relevant. Why do you think such a marriage is inferior to any other, that it could be classed as "funny"?
I feel like you are twisting the Word of God to suggest and support you're own viewpoint. Your right the Bible is very clear on a lot of subjects that people today seem to try and reinterpret. Facts Homosexuality, just like every other sexual sin is still a sin. Just because people try to put their own spin on things doesn't mean that it isn't still a sin in the eyes of God. That was the sole reason why Sodom & Gomorrah where destroyed.
In the end we are all sinners and fall short of the Glory of God and that is why WE ALL need forgiveness bought by Jesus Christ on the cross.
I think it's interesting how Christian's who decide to stand on the foundation of God's law are looked at like crazy. But then everybody (and I do mean everybody) that comes around with their own views and ideas are outside of Christianity are merited and protected.
Just to be clear I'm not saying that only gay people are in line for judgement and hell fire, I'm saying we all are if we don't take the free gift of eternal life that God gave through Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 10:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
The sole reason S&G was destroyed was because of the TREATMENT OF GUESTS, sure the poor treatment was by trying to rape the men, but the cultural norm violated was harming guests, how they were harmed doesn't make it double jeopardy. Had they simply beaten the men instead of raping them, they STILL would have been destroyed. Learn your own bible before coming and blasting it elsewhere.
I think people forget that marriage is only "sacred" if you are religious. I'm in a loving heterosexual marriage and thats of huge symbolic importance to me personally, but I don't believe in invisible friends so it's not "sacred".
Well if you ever change your mind, my invisible friend would like to meet you 😁.
haha I'll keep that in mind.
Marriage is sacred, so you would never vote for an adulterer, right? Because they're going to hell and would be unfit to lead others and would set a terrible example.
Lets compare apples to apples. I will take your comment and rephrase it to make an accurate comparison since voting for a president and shooting a wedding are not related in the slightest.
Rephrased:" Marriage is sacred, so you would never shoot a straight wedding that the groom or bride is an active and open adulterer?" So the answer to this question is simple. I believe if it is against the photographer's beliefs then they should be able to politely and respectfully decline the job. And my answer is specific to Wedding Photography. This issue is far too complex to create a blanket statement for all services. As for voting, thank God that we live in a free country that doesn't force anyone to vote against their own beliefs, even if that means you don't vote at all.
The topics are definitely related. Because if marriage is sacred (as you say), and you can't photograph a same sex wedding because of that, then you can't possibly vote for an adulterer and give them political power over the country. That would be highly inconsistent and extremely hypocritical.
Let me give you a hypothetical question. If YOU are a videographer, and someone tries to hire you to shoot a pornographic film, but YOU don't want to be involved in that industry, should YOU be forced to take the job? and also would YOU vote for an adulterer or a known liar to be president? I will wait for your answer.
You didn't answer my question, so I won't answer yours. Photography of a wedding has nothing to do with photography of porn anyway.
I knew you wouldn't answer, it's a loaded question just like the one you asked me. As a side note photographing a wedding and photographing porn has way more in common than voting for someone to be president. But regardless, you are free to your own opinion and I don't mind hearing it, hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Funny how I'm betting YOU personally had a problem with Billy Clinton's adultery and thought that should recuse him from being president. Thus I can only assume that you're a typical trump supporting hypocrite.
Lol, you lost that bet. Merry Christmas!
I still doubt that you didn't have a problem with Clinton.
I was in 6th grade so... no I didn't really care.
I wouldn't vote for an unrepentant adulterer. Not because they're "going to hell", but because they are unfit to lead others and are a terrible example.
On the "going to hell" thing, the bible teaches that we're all "sinners" (ie in rebellion against God, who put us here) and the whole point of Jesus coming to earth is to save us from the consequences of that, because he loves us. Without Jesus doing that, we're all "going to hell" anyway.
If she was a shop/restaurants/bars selling goods/services etc, then I often see signs that they can refuse to serve you if they don't want to (I dont think they have to give a rwason). So why is she being forced almost to photograph something that she is uncomfortable with?
The only difference is that she is running this from her home and not a high street store.
So an establishment can refuse to serve you where does that leave the LGBTQ now?
The world has gone mad with all of this legislation (we never needed it before) and what we can or cannot say to any one. Before we know it even Hello will be ground to sue someone as they may have said it in the wrong tone of voice or manner.
We need to stop this nonsense and get some common sense back into civil society straight away otherwise the only winners will be lawyers.
Last thourght if I was asked to photograph an animal testing lab personell and facilities (no animals in shots) can I refuse due to my belief on animal rights and I just simply say No Thank you. Will I get sued? So whats the difference between this and the items we have been discussing?
So basically, her problem is she wants to be able to TELL PEOPLE why she's turning them down. Not that she doesn't want to do the things, more that she wants to be able to talk down to those she's personally offended by.
Well, she's an idiot tilting at windmills.
Exactly, she could simple tell them she is already booked for that day.
Yup. Or just say they're not good fits for each other and leave it at that. But NOOOOO, she HAS to be able to tell them off for being gay or whatever else about them pisses her off.
A business does not have religious beliefs. And religion should never be used to justify excluding anyone from a business transaction.
do they tell you that they are KKK members (and there are so few of them) or are they wearing their robes
Would you deny medical care to KKK members? Jesus wouldn't. Jesus would give them medical care. Jesus would photograph their wedding. Photographing their wedding doesn't mean you agree with the KKK. It's just photography, for money. They are getting married, not the photographer.
Same sex weddings are not objectionable. But if you find them objectionable, then by all means don't have a same sex wedding. Nobody is forcing you to be married to the same sex. Jesus would photograph a same sex wedding just like any other wedding, recognizing that he's not the one getting married. A same sex wedding is nothing like an abortion. If you're not sure about that, then you should go see an abortion, and then go see a same sex wedding. You will find that they are not analogous.
Don't worry, photographing a gay wedding won't make you gay, just as photographing a KKK member's wedding won't make you a KKK member. It's perfectly safe to do so, and there is no risk of being converted. Any issues God has with somebody's marriage is God's business, not yours. If God makes two people in love enough to get married, then you should probably respect that enough to offer them your photography services. As far as I know, God never gave a decree about wedding photography.
Oh look who is persisting with this. I'm on dangerous ground? Here's some news for you: the Bible says nothing about photographing same sex weddings. Zip. Zero. And a wedding is not a homosexual act, nor is photographing one. And if you're a photographer, then you're a photographer, not God's appointed judge and jury.
Then why does B&H close from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday?
For the same reason that the nail salon closes at 8PM or the same reason that my local candy store is closed for 4 months out of the year. The owner(s) decided to close the store for a certain period of time which they're allowed to do regardless of reason.
During their open hours, however, they serve anyone who enters their store with the intent to purchase something (assuming you haven't been banned for some wrongdoing). It's not like they're refusing to serve non-Jewish people or something.
No, I doubt the nail salon and candy store close for the same reason. Yes, they're allowed to close when they want, for whatever reason. But in B&H's cases, that reason is due to religion, which contradicts what the OP said. B&H does, in fact, hold certain religious beliefs.
A business is not a person. A business holds no religious beliefs. The owners or workers of a business may hold religious beliefs which explains why lots of businesses close on Sunday, but that's different from claiming that a business itself (a non-human legal entity) holds religious beliefs.
If it is a sole proprietorship the business is literally the person.