Update: In October 2020, photographer Chris Herring dropped his lawsuit over Virginia anti-discrimination law. The case was voluntarily dismissed Monday without prejudice, which means it could be brought again in the future.

Norfolk, Virginia-based photographer Chris Herring has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Virginia’s new anti-discrimination law infringes on his first amendment rights. Based on his religious beliefs, Herring says he objects to shooting same-sex weddings on religious grounds, and believes the new law could “force” him to either work with same-sex couples or face bankruptcy.

Herring is suing the state over the “Virginia Values Act” that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity when it comes to housing, employment, access to credit and “public accommodations.” Herring’s photo business would be considered a public accommodation. (Before the law went into effect earlier this month, Herring and the conservative Christian nonprofit organization, Alliance Defending Freedom, known as the ADF, filed a “pre-enforcement challenge” in federal court.)

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Last November, a similar lawsuit was filed by wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson in Kentucky. That case is still active. Both she and Herring are being represented by the ADF, which routinely challenges local and state anti-discrimination ordinances on free speech grounds. It’s also the same organization that represented a Colorado bakery after it refused to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple. That case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the baker, Jack Phillips, ultimately won in 2018, though the baker is now involved in a new suit brought against him by a trans woman who tried to order a trans-themed birthday cake from his Colorado bakery.

As with the Nelson case, the ADF is claiming that the new law “forces Herring to use his artistic talents to promote same-sex weddings in his photographs and blogs if he [also] photographs and blogs about weddings between one man and one woman.” Herring says that while he works with same-sex clients on brand and adventure shots, he objects to photographing same-sex weddings on the basis of his Christian faith.

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ADF Senior Legal Counsel Kate Anderson told The Virginian-Pilot that Herring wants to post a message on his website saying he would not serve these weddings but fears he would be fined by the state.

The proposed message would read: “Because of my faith, I can only photograph consistent with who I am and what I believe. I can only photograph what celebrates God’s creation and design for the world. I won’t photograph ceremonies that contradict God’s design for marriage as something between one man and one woman.” The law prohibits the publication of any statement of intention to discriminate, but it seems unclear as to how it would be enforced.

Because the law includes initial fines of up to $50,000 for the first violation and $100,000 for each additional violation, the photographer’s lawyers claim that this statement would put Herring’s business at risk. 

In a news release from the ADF, Herring stated that “it isn’t the state’s job to tell me what I must capture on film or publish on my website. My religious beliefs influence every aspect of my life, including the stories I tell through my photography. If you’re looking for someone to photograph a red-light district or promote drug tourism, I’m not your guy. I happily work with and serve all customers, but I can’t and won’t let the state force me to express messages that contradict my beliefs.”

The ADF and Herring are seeking a preliminary injunction, preventing the state from enforcing the Virginia Values Act until the case has been settled.