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1st gay marriage licenses issued in South Carolina

By Blake Hanson
By Blake Hanson

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A judge issued the first gay marriage licenses and a couple was married in South Carolina on Wednesday, even as the state attorney general asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and block the unions.

Judge Irvin Condon's office issued six licenses in the first 90 minutes the Charleston County Probate Court office was open and one of the couples, Kristin Anderson and Kayla Bennett, exchanged vows outside the office.

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"We want to get in before they change their minds and pull the rug out again," Anderson told local media outlets, referring to the ongoing legal battles over gay marriage.

Jim Strickland and Mike Goforth signed their way into the history books becoming the first York County couple to apply for a marriage license after 18 years of waiting.

“When I saw the news early this morning, they said 8 o’clock -- I said we'll be there at 7:30 a.m.,” Strickland said.

The couple filled out a brand new certificate.

In addition to bride or groom, it adds a checkbox for spouse.

The couples still have to wait 24 hours to get married.

But for many including Mary Mullnax and her partner who held a commitment ceremony four years ago to the day, signing the papers was emotional.

“To finally know that I belong to somebody who loves me and I deserve to have it,” Mullnax said.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson released the following statement on Thursday's ruling by the United States Supreme Court denying the application for a stay: “Despite today's refusal to grant our motion, the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet resolved conflicting rulings by federal appeals courts on the issue of same sex marriage. When the U.S. Supreme Court decides to consider the case, our office will be supporting the position of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is more consistent with South Carolina State law, which upholds the unique status of traditional marriage.”

Before Wednesday, same-sex couples could marry in 32 states, parts of Kansas and Missouri, and the District of Columbia. Also Wednesday, a federal judge in Montana ruled the state's ban was unconstitutional.

In South Carolina, another marriage license went to Colleen Condon and her partner Nichols Bleckley, who sued the state. Ruling in that case, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel last week threw out the same-sex marriage ban in the South Carolina Constitution.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused on Tuesday to put Gergel's order on hold. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson then asked Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court to block such marriages while the state appeals, Wilson's spokesman Mark Powell said. The Supreme Court did not immediately rule on the request.

Attorney John Nichols, representing the probate judge, said the licenses could be issued because of a Tuesday decision in another federal case.

CLICK HERE for more information on same-sex marriage

There, U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs in Columbia ruled in favor of Highway Patrol Trooper Katherine Bradacs and U.S. Air Force retiree Tracie Goodwin, who sued to have the state to recognize their marriage performed in Washington, D.C.

Childs ruled the state's failure to recognize their marriage was unconstitutional.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a 4th Circuit decision allowing same-sex marriage in Virginia, opening the way for same-sex marriages in other states. South Carolina continued to defend its same-sex marriage ban and was the only state in the circuit not permitting them.

At that time, probate judges in two South Carolina counties began accepting applications for same-sex marriage licenses. The South Carolina Supreme Court quickly ordered that no licenses be issued before a decision in the Columbia case.

On Wednesday, the state's high court lifted its stay, and said Childs' decision resolved the case.

Powell said the attorney general is reviewing Childs' order.

Warren Redman-Gress, the executive director of the Alliance for Full Acceptance, said a gay couple married in New York applied Wednesday in Charleston to use their married name on their drivers' licenses and were turned down.

"I think people are going to keep seeing those things happening," he said. "This has ramifications for all different parts of the state."

York County began issuing licenses at 8 a.m. while Lancaster County started at 8:30 a.m.

STATEMENT FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL ALAN WILSON

 (COLUMBIA, S.C.)   South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson released the following statement on today's ruling by the United States Supreme Court denying the application for a stay:

“Despite today's refusal to grant our motion, the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet resolved conflicting rulings by federal appeals courts on the issue of same sex marriage. When the U.S. Supreme Court decides to consider the case, our office will be supporting the position of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is more consistent with South Carolina State law, which upholds the unique status of traditional marriage.”

WSOC

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