FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 5, 2023) – In light of a recent Supreme Court ruling validating the right to free speech, Attorney General Daniel Cameron sent a letter to Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, calling on him to abandon his challenge to the First Amendment rights of a Louisville photographer.
“Louisville is my home; the place Makenze and I are raising our son—and I want him to grow up in a city where he is safe, free to practice his faith, and not persecuted by his government,” said Attorney General Cameron. “I sent this letter to urge Mayor Greenberg to follow the Supreme Court’s lead and respect the right of every Louisvillian to speak according to his or her conscience.”
Last year, a federal district judge found that Louisville could not force Chelsey Nelson, a Christian, to provide custom photography services at same-sex weddings in violation of her faith. Unhappy with the decision, Mayor Greenberg’s predecessor appealed to the Sixth Circuit—a challenge Mayor Greenberg has continued at great expense to the Louisville Metro Government.
In his letter, Attorney General Cameron cites the recent decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis as evidence that the mayor’s challenge is an exercise in futility and will further burden the taxpayers of Louisville and Jefferson County, as the Nelson case is substantively no different than 303 Creative. “I urge you to stop wasting the hard-earned tax dollars of those same citizens in a quixotic campaign at the Sixth Circuit that has been rendered a nullity.”
Attorney General Cameron concludes his letter by calling on Mayor Greenberg to change course and uphold the bedrock of our democracy—the First Amendment. “The Supreme Court has spoken. Chelsey Nelson has the right to her conscience and cannot be compelled to speak against it.”
This is Attorney General Cameron’s latest effort to protect religious liberty in Kentucky. Earlier this year, he led a 21-state coalition in defense of Chelsey Nelson and joined a 22-state coalition in defending the First Amendment rights of religious students on university campuses.
To read a copy of Attorney General Cameron’s letter, click here.