He refuses to take photos of a gay wedding. Virginia says he's allowed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, the Virginia Mercury

• “He refuses to take photos of a gay wedding. Virginia says he’s allowed.”—Washington Post

LEGAL ISSUES

He refuses to take photos of a gay wedding. Virginia says he’s allowed.

By Rachel Weiner and Justin Jouvenal
November 8, 2023 at 12:50 p.m. EST



Wedding photographer Bob Updegrove: “Like any other artist, I want to create photography that I believe in.” (Alliance Defending Freedom)

A Virginia photographer can refuse to take pictures of same-sex weddings and say so on his website after the settlement of a federal lawsuit that challenged the state’s ban on discrimination against gay and transgender people. ... The state committed in a filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to not require Bob Updegrove “to offer or provide photography celebrating same-sex weddings” or prevent him from expressing that position in promotional materials. The settlement specifically cited the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the case of Colorado web design company 303 Creative, in which the six conservatives on the court ruled that the First Amendment allows some businesses to refuse to work for same-sex couples.

{snip}

The decision is a blow to the Virginia Values Act, a landmark 2020 law that made Virginia the first state in the South to enact wide-ranging protections for LGBTQ people. The bill was signed by then Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and was one of the signature bills after Democrats took control of the state legislature in 2019. Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who introduced that legislation, said Tuesday that in settling the case, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares gave “a sweetheart deal” to “the ultra-right. {snip} “Miyares has complained about prosecutors allegedly picking and choosing which laws they enforce, then he made a deal refusing to respect the law he swore to uphold,” Ebbin said. The attorney general has criticized local prosecutors he considers insufficiently tough on criminal defendants and tried to give his office the power to prosecute some violent crimes.

Miyares said in a statement that the settlement was simply respecting the U.S. Supreme Court decision. “The Supreme Court made clear … that the government cannot compel people like Mr. Updegrove to speak contrary to their conscience,” Miyares said. “As Attorney General, my highest duty is to the federal Constitution.” A spokesperson added that Miyares has not given up his authority to enforce the Virginia Values Act generally. ... But Ebbin argued there was no reason to concede this case when a federal judge had already dismissed Updegrove’s lawsuit as lacking evidence that he needed protection from the law. That decision had been on appeal.

Updegrove “has never been approached by anyone seeking his photography services for a same-sex wedding,” Judge Claude M. Hilton wrote in 2021, and “never previously engaged in the type of speech that he claims is currently being chilled.” ... These are “made-up lawsuits” that “divide Virginians,” Ebbin said. ... In the U.S. Supreme Court case, there was also no indication that the plaintiff had been asked to do work for a same-sex couple. These and other cases brought by the group were pre-enforcement challenges, arguing anti-discrimination laws have a coercive effect on businesses that involve expressive, creative work. The U.S. Supreme Court said it was “more than enough” to raise First Amendment concerns that the website designer could face sanctions under Colorado’s anti-discrimination law.

{snip}

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By Rachel Weiner
Rachel Weiner covers federal courts in Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Va. Twitter https://twitter.com/rachelweinerwp

By Justin Jouvenal
Justin Jouvenal covers courts and policing in Fairfax County and across the nation. He joined The Post in 2009. Twitter https://twitter.com/jjouvenal

[Laffy Kat]

1. So, if he said he refused Black customers, what then?

He's an asshole and I wouldn't want to give him my money anyway. I'll be so happy when all of these dinosaurs die-off. Of course, I will have died-off, too, by then.

[phylny]

2. I wonder if he'll take pictures of divorced people getting remarried.

You know, adultery and all that.

(Disclaimer: I don't think it's adultery, nor do I care, but some people believe it is).

[moniss]

3. It would be nice to see

a group come forward and take out ads in his area notifying couples that the group will contribute money to any couple who agree to use some other photographer than the one who brings hate, discrimination and ignorance to a ceremony about love.

[BWdem4life]

4. Maybe a dumb question but

why would you want a photographer like that at your wedding anyway? And how good of a job would he do if he didn't really want the gig? Aren't there many other photographers to choose from?

Maybe it's better that he states his bigoted views up front so people know to avoid him.

[Yonnie3]

5. We worked several same sex weddings in Virginia

The planners felt obliged to ask months in advance if we had a problem working such. They wanted to prevent last minute problems. I suspect that there had been problems.

We provided a sound system for the band and often a small system for the ceremony and for cocktail music.

This has stirred a memory of a female-female wedding I worked at a vineyard near Charlottesville only a few miles from TFG's vineyard. It was a quiet Quaker style wedding where people took the microphone and spoke if they felt like it. There was no officiant. I believe that this was prior to such a union being recognized in Virginia.

The couple was happy and relaxed, often not the case at weddings. I was standing off to the side mixing the band with an iPad and they came up holding hands and said it sounded great. They were so happy that even this curmudgeon was beaming at them and their joy. This wedding job stands out after hundreds of weddings as one of the lowest stress and most enjoyable ones in my memory.