The Constitutional Right to Conscript a Wedding Photographer
20th November 2013
You didn’t know about that? It’s right next to the section that says you can murder your unborn child. I’m surprised you missed it.
In a column about the case, New York Times legal writer Adam Liptak claims “there are constitutional values on both sides of the case: the couple’s right to equal treatment and Ms. Huguenin’s right to free speech.” But the Constitution guarantees equal treatment by the government, not by private individuals or organizations. The 14th Amendment cannot justify requiring photographers to treat all couples equally any more than the First Amendment can justify requiring publishers to treat all authors equally. By erroneously suggesting that deciding Huguenin’s case means choosing between competing “constitutional values,” Liptak lends cover to the American Civil Liberties Union, which in this case is arguing that Huguenin’s civil liberties should be overridden by a principle that cannot be found in the Bill of Rights.