Judge strikes down SC same

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A U.S. District Court judge has struck down South Carolina's same-sex marriage ban, saying it's unconstitutional.

Judge Richard Gergel issued his ruling Wednesday in a case brought by two women who tried to get a marriage license in Charleston, S.C.

Marriage licenses can't be immediately handed out as Gergel issued a stay on his order until Nov. 20.

A spokesman for South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said Wilson is reviewing the ruling.

Earlier this year, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Virginia's same-sex marriage prohibition. When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the case in early October, some interpreted that as a de facto ruling on other states' gay-marriage laws that are under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Circuit, including South Carolina. South Carolina was the only state in the circuit refusing to allow such marriages.

On Oct. 8, Colleen Condon and her partner, Nichols Bleckley, were the first to apply in Charleston for a same-sex marriage license. A circuit court judge agreed to receive the couple's application and filings from other gay couples.

A judge in Columbia also began taking applications for licenses.

But Wilson filed a motion asking the state Supreme Court to stop those licenses from being issued. A day later, the state's high court agreed, saying a separate decision being heard by the U.S. District Court in South Carolina must be heard first before the state's ban could be tossed out.

That case involves a Lexington County, S.C., couple who were married in another state, but have not had their union recognized in South Carolina. Their lawsuit directly challenges the constitutionality of the state's ban on gay marriage.

A judge is still deciding whether South Carolina must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Contributing: news3blog.blogspot.com

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