Amicus Brief

Updegrove v. Herring (U.S.D.C., Eastern District of Virginia, 2020)

At issue in this case is a business invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a religious exemption from a state anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding photography services to LGBTQ couples. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that such an exemption is not authorized by the Free Exercise Clause and prohibited by the Establishment Clause. Furthermore, the sought exemption would undermine the state law’s prohibitions on religious discrimination by authorizing discrimination against religious minorities and others.