New Mexico Photographer Taking Gay Wedding Case to Supreme Court

State ruled they could not refuse to shoot couple's wedding for religious reasons

An Albuquerque couple who operate their commercial photography business on Christian religious principles will ask the Supreme Court to give them constitutional protection for their views favoring traditional marriage, their lawyers said on Wednesday.  The case, if accepted by the Court, would give the Justices a chance to sort out how gay rights laws passed by states are enforced against those who hold the view that marriage is only for a man and a woman.

Although the case does not involve state authority to allow or deny same-sex marriage, it could be the first new case related to that issue to reach the Court since its first foray into that constitutional controversy last Term.

The case, from the New Mexico Supreme Court, is Elane Photography v. Willock.  This blog discussed the state court's decision as part of a longer post dealing with religious issues likely to reach the Justices in the new Term.  The petition in the case is due at the Supreme Court by late November, according to attorneys with the advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom.