Supreme Court Allows Same-Sex Marriage in Kansas; Same-Sex Marriage Ban Struck Down in South Carolina

On Wednesday, Kansas became the thirty-third state to allow same-sex marriage. On the same day, South Carolina struck down its ban on gay marriage.

The U.S. District Court in Kansas struck down the ban on November 4, but a temporary stay was issued until the high court had a final ruling on the appeal against the decision. District Court Judge Daniel Crabtree struck down the gay marriage ban last week for being an unconstitutional violation of equal rights.

After review, the Supreme Court lifted the temporary stay on gay marriage bans. Two of the nine Justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, said they were in favor of keeping the stay in place.

In Columbia, South Carolina the gay marriage ban was also struck down. The U.S. District Court Judge, Richard Gergel, ruled that the bans were unconstitutional. Gergel, however, issued a stay on the ruling that will last until November 20 in order for the state to make an appeal.

South Carolina is under the jurisdiction of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down same-sex marriage bans back in October. South Carolina was the only state in the circuit to maintain prohibition of same-sex unions. The state of Virginia, also part of the 4th Circuit, appealed to the Supreme Court back in October, but the high court refused to hear the appeal.

“This court has carefully reviewed the language of South Carolina's constitutional and statutory ban on same sex marriage and now finds that there is no meaningful distinction between the existing South Carolina provisions and those of Virginia declared unconstitutional,” wrote Gergel in his ruling.

Alan Wilson, the Attorney General for South Carolina, will appeal the reversal of the ban. He believes South Carolina’s laws regarding same-sex unions are unique and should not be grouped with other states' laws.

“Based on the time-honored tradition of federalism, this office believes South Carolina's unique laws should have their day in court at the highest appropriate level,” said Wilson in a statement.

There is reason to believe the Supreme Court will make a ruling regarding the constitutionality of same-sex unions sometime soon. Despite the yearlong trend of gay marriage bans being struck down, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals kept bans in place last week. This inconsistency prompts many to believe the Supreme Court will step in to provide a final ruling for same-sex marriage across the nation.