Judge rules that gay people have constitutional right to marry in SC
Federal Judge Richard Gergel of Charleston overturned state law and ruled today that couples of the same sex have a right under the U.S. Constitution to marry in South Carolina.
Gergel’s decision is the first ruling in a South Carolina federal court that clearly states that state government has no compelling interest – nor does it have a right – to dictate to citizens who they can and cannot marry.
“State laws that run contrary to constitutionally protected rights of individuals cannot be allowed to stand...,” wrote Gergel, striking down a 2006 amendment to the state constitution that said that only marriages between a man and a woman are legal and valid, as well a 1996 state law that outlawed gay marriages....
