New Mexico Supreme Court Holds That Photographer Cannot Refuse to Photograph Same-Sex Union

August 22nd, 2013

From the opinion:

Second, we conclude that the NMHRA does not violate free speech guarantees because the NMHRA does not compel Elane Photography to either speak a governmentmandated message or to publish the speech of another. The purpose of the NMHRA is to ensure that businesses offering services to the general public do not discriminate against protected classes of people, and the United States Supreme Court has made it clear that the First Amendment permits such regulation by states. Businesses that choose to be public accommodations must comply with the NMHRA, although such businesses retain their First Amendment rights to express their religious or political beliefs. They may, for example, post a disclaimer on their website or in their studio advertising that they oppose same-sex marriage but that they comply with applicable antidiscrimination laws. We also hold that the NMHRA is a neutral law of general applicability, and as such, it does not violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Coming soon to One First Street.

Why do courts insist on numbering paragraphs? Pages are also numbered. It’s even worse than line numbering.

H/T Steve Klein

Update: Dale Carpenter has the analysis here.