DOJ backs Kentucky photographer challenging gay rights law

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Justice is weighing in on a lawsuit filed by a Kentucky wedding photographer who is challenging a city ordinance.

The ordinance in Louisville bans businesses from discriminating against gay customers.

The Justice Department filed a “statement of interest” this week in federal court saying that the photographer, Chelsey Nelson, is likely to succeed on her claim. She sued Louisville city officials in November.

In the suit she argued that the city’s ordinance violated the First Amendment. Nelson has said she only wants to photograph the weddings of heterosexual couples.