The Weddings Have Begun ... With More To Come

It’s game, er, wedding on!

A Charleston County judge has issued South Carolina's first same-sex marriage license to Charleston County councilwoman Colleen Condon and her fiancé, Nichols Bleckley; it’s only fitting since they were the first couple to have their application for a marriage license accepted in Charleston County last month.

"I do hope that every parent, teacher takes a moment today to explain to kids what's going on and how historic this moment is."—Nichols Bleckley.

"We knew this was never about just the two of us. We wanted it for us, but we knew that we were a part of hundreds, thousands in South Carolina who were ready to get married right away."—Colleen Condon

And Judge Irvin Condon will be issuing the licenses to the couples who applied before he was ordered to stop by the state Supreme Court. Condon can issue the licenses due to a US district court ruling filed this past Tuesday that ordered South Carolina to legally recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in other states where same-sex marriage is legal; he began issuing the licenses to applicants who met all qualifications yesterday morning.

And it’s already happened for one same-sex couple.  First thing yesterday morning, Kayla Bennett and Kristin Anderson held their marriage ceremony right outside the Charleston County Probate Court and had South Carolina’s first officially recognized same-sex wedding.

South Carolina. Same-sex marriage. Who knew?

Congratulations to all the couples in the state — myself and Carlos included, as well as our good friends Bill and Michael who were married in New York on October 24 — who are now legally married, and best wishes to all those that come after.

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