US Supreme Court refuses to block South Carolina gay marriages
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The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block gay marriages in South Carolina.
The high court on Thursday issued an order denying a request by Attorney General Alan Wilson. The Republican prosecutor had wanted the marriages blocked while he challenges a judge's recent decision that opened the way for the marriages.
Under U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel's order, the marriages were to begin at noon Thursday. But as a practical matter, licenses are already being issued and weddings performed. The first marriage was in Charleston on Wednesday.
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That day, the state Supreme Court allowed probate judges statewide to issue same-sex licenses. That decision came after a federal judge in Columbia ruled that the state's refusal to recognize gay marriages performed in other states was unconstitutional.