Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

October 2017 – Amy Lawson (photo above), owner of Amy Lynn Photography Studio in Madison, Wisconsin, became worried after a client complained in late spring 2016 about Lawson’s statement on her website that she does not photograph same sex ceremonies. Lawson removed the statement in fear of breaking state and city public accommodation laws and stopped all wedding photography services to avoid breaking the law.

In March 2017, Alliance Defending Freedom filed the lawsuit Amy Lynn Photography Studio v City of Madison, asking to bar enforcement of laws that violate Wisconsin’s Free Speech Clause and the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of free speech, freedom of conscience, and equal protection.

After an August 1 hearing, ADF attorney Jonathan Scruggs confirmed that Dane County Circuit Court Judge Richard Neiss had agreed to release an order in the coming weeks that accommodation laws did not apply to Amy Lawson’s photography business because she does not have a physical storefront.

“The court’s announcement has important implications,” Scruggs said. “It means that government officials (in Wisconsin) must allow creative professionals without storefronts freedom about which ideas they will use in artistic expression.”

theblaze.com, 8/3/17; christiandaily.com, 8/7/17