Legal Challenge Filed Against Minnesota’s Gay Marriage Law

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The owners of a video company have filed a legal challenge to Minnesota's gay marriage law because they want to shoot weddings for heterosexual couples only.

Carl and Angel Larsen say they will be punished for refusing wedding services to same-sex couples. The St. Cloud couple owns Telescope Media Group and filed a lawsuit against the state' human rights commission and attorney general.

The Star Tribune says their federal lawsuit has the backing of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal nonprofit organization. Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey says the lawsuit is part of a pattern of litigation nationwide aimed at eroding the rights of the LGBTQ community.

Minnesota's same-sex marriage law was enacted in 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that the fundamental right to marriage is guaranteed to all.