A federal judge has signaled that he
will probably strike down South Carolina's ban on gay marriage.
However, briefs filed this week show
that Attorney General Alan Wilson and Governor Nikki Haley, who are
fighting to keep the ban in place, are likely to appeal any ruling
forcing the state to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian
couples.
According to The
State, which acquired a transcript of an October 24 hearing,
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel of Charleston refused a
request from the attorney general's office asking for three more days
to file additional documents to stop plaintiffs in the case from
possibly marrying.
“Let me tell you my view,” Gergel
said, addressing Emory Smith, a lawyer in the the attorney
general's office. “The plaintiffs in this case have asserted an
irreparable injury. They assert their marriage was stopped by action
of the defendants … and I believe they're entitled to an
expeditious review.”
Plaintiffs in the case are Colleen
Condon, a county councilwoman, and Anne Nichols Bleckley of
Charleston County. The women's application for a marriage license
was accepted by a county probate judge. Wilson responded by asking
the South Carolina Supreme Court to direct judges to refrain from
issuing such licenses until a federal case challenging the ban is
resolved. The court granted the request. Condon and Bleckley are
asking Gergel to allow the probate judge to issue them a marriage
license.
South Carolina is the lone state in the
Fourth Circuit currently enforcing its marriage ban after the Supreme
Court on October 6 refused to hear an appeal in a case challenging
Virginia's ban, effectively striking down such bans in the Fourth
Circuit.
“A decision by my court would control
… over the matter of constitutional law,” Gergel said of his
court's authority in the case.
He added that he believes precedent was
set in the Fourth District when Virginia's ban fell.
In a brief filed in the case Monday,
Haley and Wilson said that the issue was not settled because “the
U.S. Supreme Court has not weighed in.”
Gergel could rule as early as
Wednesday.
(Transcript proved by Equality
Case Files)