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ADF attorneys challenge city, state laws that force creative professionals
to promote messages, events they don’t agree with
MADISON, Wis. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a photographer and blogger in Madison filed suit against city and state officials in a Wisconsin court Tuesday. The lawsuit challenges a sweeping local ordinance and a state law that force commissioned creative professionals to promote messages that violate their beliefs.
For example, a Madison-based speechwriter who opposes President Trump would be subject to severe punishment if she refused to write a speech for him. Under these same laws, Amy Lawson and her company, Amy Lynn Photography Studio, are required to create photographs and blog posts promoting pro-abortion groups and same-sex marriages if she creates content that promotes pro-life organizations or that celebrates the marriage of one man and one woman.
Combined, the laws also forbid creative professionals from posting a statement on their website explaining that the artist reserves discretion not to use their artistic talents to promote messages or causes that are inconsistent with their deepest convictions, even though business owners in these professions frequently decline projects for these reasons. The laws therefore bar Lawson from publishing a statement that says she cannot promote pro-abortion organizations or same-sex marriage because of her religious, political, and artistic beliefs.
Full news release, quotes, and related media resources available at the following link: http://www.adfmedia.org/News/
Case Name: Amy Lynn Photography Studio v. City of Madison
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
