Overview
- The settlement, filed in federal court Tuesday, requires Louisville to pay $800,000 to cover Chelsey Nelson’s attorney fees.
- Mayor Craig Greenberg’s office says the city will keep enforcing the Fairness Ordinance, which bans discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
- A federal judge previously barred the city from applying the ordinance to Nelson’s wedding photography and awarded her $1 in nominal damages for speech restrictions.
- Courts cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 303 Creative decision, which says the government cannot force people to create expressive work that conveys messages they reject.
- Alliance Defending Freedom called the outcome a First Amendment win, while outlets on the left stressed that Louisville’s LGBTQ+ protections remain intact.