The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing same-sex marriage to begin in South Carolina. The nation's highest court refused Thursday to delay the marriages pending appeal.
A federal judge in Charleston struck down South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage a week ago, but he gave the state Attorney General Alan Wilson until today to try to get an emergency stay, which would put the ruling on hold.
A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices rejected that request. The order doesn't provide legal reasoning and is only a few lines, as is common with this kind of emergency response. It notes that Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas would have granted the delay.
Same-sex marriage is now legal in both of the Carolinas. In South Carolina, some same-sex couples have already received marriage licenses.
