A U.S. District judge in South Carolina has ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional based on a ruling by the 4th Circuit in Virginia.
South Carolina refused to begin issuing marriage licenses in October when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear the Virginia case — a decision that was binding throughout the circuit. West Virginia and North Carolina became marriage equality states. South Carolina has resisted.
After the 6th Circuit ruled last week that it is legal to discriminate against gay couples in marriage laws, South Carolina pointed to that decision to continue refusing to issue marriage licenses. But U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel ruled South Carolina must follow the 4th Circuit ruling.
No word on if the state will comply or if it will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
And as we write this, a U.S. district court in Mississippi is hearing arguments in a case challenging the marriage ban there.
