NY pays $225K to end legal battle with Christian photographer over same-sex weddings
July 24, 2025
The state of New York has agreed to a $225,000 settlement with a Christian photographer, two months after a federal judge blocked the state from forcing the photographer to provide services for same-sex weddings.
The Christian Post reports that New York’s Democratic Attorney General Letitia James and Commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights Denise Miranda have been ordered not to enforce certain provisions of the state’s antidiscrimination laws against Emilee Carpenter Photography.
The agreement reached Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York also specifies that the state will by $225,000 in attorney’s fees stemming from litigation first filed by Carpenter in 2021.
Carpenter had filed that suit out of concerns that New York state law would compel her to provide services for same-sex weddings, despite her religious objections to participating.
U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci issued an order in May prohibiting the state from forcing the “Plaintiffs to offer to same-sex couples the same engagement- and wedding-photography services they provide to opposite-sex couples.”
The judge’s order also sought to “prevent Plaintiffs from asking prospective clients questions sufficient to determine whether they seek photography services celebrating a same-sex wedding or engagement or from asking materially similar questions.”
According to the Christian Post, the state also cannot prohibit Carpenter from adopting her “desired Beliefs and Practices policy” and sharing it in conversation, on social media or on her website.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart welcomed the latest development, saying in a statement, “The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee’s freedom to express her own beliefs as she continues to serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs. New Yorkers can now enjoy the freedom to create and express themselves, a freedom that protects all Americans regardless of their views.”
Photo: top, Credit: Getty Images/YinYang