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MANHATTAN (CN) — The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a mixed decision Friday that New York public accommodation laws do not violate the religious freedom and free association rights of a wedding photographer who feared prosecution for turning away same-sex clients. Emilee Carpenter, who is based in western New York’s Chemung County, filed a civil faith-based challenge seeking an exemption from an accommodations clause of New York’s Human Rights Law, calling it unconstitutional to make her choose between a penalty of up to $100,000 or photographing same-sex weddings that go against her religious beliefs. “Following the Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative , we agree with defendants’ concession that Carpenter’s complaint states a claim that New York’s public accommodations laws compel her to speak in violation of the First Amendment,” U.S. Circuit Judge Alison Nathan in the panel’s 56-page opinion . “However, in light of 303 Creative ’s fact-intensive First Amendment analysis, we deny Carpenter’s request for entry of a preliminary injunction and instead remand to the district court for determination on a factual record,” wrote Nathan, a Biden appointee. The Second Circuit received Carpenter’s free speech claim after a federal court dismissed her lawsuit. U.S. District […]