A Christian photographer has filed a lawsuit disputing a new state law in Virginia forcing him to cover same-sex weddings despite his Biblical beliefs on marriage.
Bob Updegrove is rallying against The Virginia Values Act which he said is making him felt slandered for working against his convictions, Christian Headlines reported.
Enacted on July 2020, the new law "compels churches, religious schools, and Christian ministries to hire employees who do not share their stated beliefs on marriage, sexuality, and gender identity" Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) says.
This regulation also forbids Updegrove from making a public statement about his Christian beliefs in marriage on his own studio website because this kind of communication is considered "discriminatory" based on sexual orientation in Virginia.
The photographer faces fines of up to $50,000, per additional violation of $100,000 and a court order that could oblige him to cover events against his convictions.
A Christian non-profit legal organization, ADF is representing the photographer in court on challenging this new state law.
"Every American, including artists, should be free to peacefully live, work, and create art that's consistent with their deeply held beliefs-without the fear of government punishment," ADF Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs said.
"Because of the state's interpretation of its law, photographers like Bob face an impossible choice: violate the law and risk bankruptcy, promote views against their faith, or close down. The government cannot demand that artists create content that violates their deepest convictions," Scruggs continued.
Scruggs contended that Virginia has long been defending constitutional freedoms and that "this kind of government hostility toward people of faith has no place in a free society."
The Associated Press reported that Updegrove's lawyers also wrote, "Bob believes that God has called him to use his creative talents to promote messages that are at time counter-cultural in order to convey the truth about God" and that he would violate his religious beliefs by creating photographic art for a same-sex wedding.
Filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the case Updegrove v. Herring says that the state law violates several provisions of the U.S. Constitution which include the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment. The complaint specifically challenges "Va. Code § 2.2-3904(B), which forces Updegrove to participate in and to create photographs promoting same-sex wedding ceremonies-all because he does the same to celebrate weddings between a man and a woman."
"If the government can tell you what to do, what to say and what to create, then we do not live in a free America," Updegrove argued.
Sponsored by Senator Adam Ebbin, Senate Bill 868 forbids discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in public and private employment, housing, access to credit and public accommodations.
"The legislation also extends important protections important protections to Virginians on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, and status as a veteran," Virginia Governor Northam's website explains.
The Virginia law which took effect on July 1 last year, was signed by Governor Ralph Northam in April 2020.
