A Kentucky city will pay $800,000 in legal fees to a photographer who challenged its LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination law, ending a years-long legal battle. Chelsey Nelson filed the lawsuit in 2019 against the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government, arguing that the city’s Fairness Ordinance could force her to create content supporting same-sex marriage, which she opposes.
The ordinance prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people. Backed by Alliance Defending Freedom, Nelson claimed the law would require her to “create photographs and blogs celebrating a message about marriage she does not believe.”
During Donald Trump’s first term, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest supporting her case. In September, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton awarded Nelson $1 in damages, ruling the ordinance unlawfully restricted her ability to publicly state she would not photograph same-sex weddings. Now, Louisville has agreed to pay her legal fees, bringing the case to a close. City officials say the settlement ends litigation while leaving the Fairness Ordinance in place. The case relied in part on the Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis.
