(FW) – A photographer based in Norfolk, Virginia, filed a lawsuit against the commonwealth earlier this week, arguing a new law could threaten the future of his business. The Alliance Defending Freedom is representing Christian photographer Chris Herring in a suit against Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (no relation) and the Virginia Division of Human Rights and Fair Housing.
Chris Herring believes the newly enacted Virginia Values Act forces him to promote same-sex marriage in defiance of his Christian convictions, according to The Virginian-Pilot. The entrepreneur “faces an impossible choice: violate the law and risk bankruptcy, promote views against his faith, or close down,” said his attorneys at ADF.
“And this was exactly what Virginia officials wanted for those who hold Chris’ religious beliefs about marriage. Legislators who passed Virginia’s law called views like Chris’ ‘bigotry’ and sought to punish them for ‘unlimited punitive damages’ to remove them from the public square.” ADF argued in court filings that the language of the Virginia law would force Chris Herring “to create and convey photographs and blogs celebrations of same-sex weddings because he does so for weddings between a man and a woman.” READ MORE
