UPDATE: It's Marriage Equality, Y'all!

It’s a great day in South Carolina.

Barring a stay, or emergency order, from the Supreme Court of the United States, marriage equality has come to the state; twice! A pair of rulings released yesterday by two different federal courts have basically dismantled South Carolina's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage clearing the way for the state to become the 34th state — and the first in the deep South — to legalize marriage equality.

And it all happened so quickly; yesterday afternoon I was not married in South Carolina, and then shortly after dinner I was, when the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s request for an emergency stay on last week’s court ruling that declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional; the unanimous three-judge ruling said:

"Upon consideration of submissions relative to appellant's motion for stay pending appeal, the court denies the motion and denies the alternate request for a temporary stay."

And that simply means that, starting tomorrow at noon, same-sex marriages in South Carolina can proceed.

Still, Alan Wilson, obviously stomping his feet and twisting his head around in circles, has vowed to fight on; he  says the laws were voted on by the people of South Carolina in 2006 and that a court shouldn't overturn what the people chose.

Ah, Alan, but they did; in South Carolina and elsewhere, because, something you might have learned in law school you don’t let the majority vote on the rights of the minority. We did not let racist white America vote on the Civil Rights of black Americans; we did not let America vote on interracial marriage; we did not let America vote on the rights of women to vote; we should never have allowed Americans to vote of the marriage rights of gay Americans.

Pretty simple. Still, Alan Wilson released a statement after the ruling saying the issue has not been resolved nationally:

"It is still likely the U.S. Supreme Court will address conflicting rulings between federal circuit courts of appeal. Therefore, today's ruling by the Fourth Circuit does not end the constitutional obligation of this Office to defend South Carolina law. We continue to believe the doctrine of federalism and the Tenth Amendment should allow South Carolina's unique laws to be considered at the highest appropriate court of appeal. We will be seeking an application to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay shortly.”

Of course the ruling has not been resolved nationally, though it will, and sooner rather than later, but the issue has been resolved in this state, by the 4thy Circuit Court — twice — and by two separate federal judges.

Alan, honey, build a bridge and get over it. And take Governor Haley with you; she also released a statement saying she has a "responsibility to defend the Constitution of South Carolina and supports the Attorney General."

You mean the Constitution that treats some South Carolinians as second class citizens? That Constitution, Governor? Sit down.

And stay seated because right after the 4th Circuit told Alan Wilson to stop talking, Judge Michelle Childs — presiding over the case of Bradacs v South Carolina, the case for which The Will of the People Fund was created — ruled  that the marriage of Katie Bradacs and her wife, Tracie Goodwin-Bradacs — and all other same-sex couples in South Carolina who married elsewhere — should be recognized in the state because the constitutional ban "impermissibly violate [the] Plaintiffs' fundamental right to have their marriage recognized."

"We believed when we filed this case nearly two years ago that we were right, and Judge Childs agreed with us. It is such a great day for us and our family. It is a great day in South Carolina for marriage equality! Our family unit is complete!"—Tracie Goodwin-Bradacs

It is a great day for South Carolina.

sources:

MSNBC

Salon

WIS