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Same-sex marriages to begin in South Carolina

A day before the stay is officially lifted, a Charleston judge issued marriage licenses to six same-sex couples.

By Gabrielle Levy
A person holds flags in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C on, June 26, 2013. The Supreme Court ruled DOMA unconstitutional, allowing married same-sex couples to federal benefits, and declining to decide on the California Proposition 8 same-sex marriage case. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
A person holds flags in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C on, June 26, 2013. The Supreme Court ruled DOMA unconstitutional, allowing married same-sex couples to federal benefits, and declining to decide on the California Proposition 8 same-sex marriage case. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

COLUMBIA, S.C., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The first marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples in South Carolina Wednesday, a day before a stay on an order lifting the state's ban expires.

A federal judge last week ruled against the ban after the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision struck down a similar law in Virginia.

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The ruling was stayed until Nov. 20, but the 4th Circuit denied the stay Tuesday.

Probate Judge Irv Condon issued licenses to six couples Wednesday morning before the South Carolina Court Administration ordered him to wait one more day.

Charleston County councilwoman Colleen Condon and her fiancee, Nichols Bleckley, were the first couple to have their application granted in Charleston County last month, and became the first couple to receive a marriage license Wednesday.

"We're absolutely thrilled!" Condon said. "We knew going into this we weren't doing it for ourselves but doing it for us, my son and for all the other people who really were afraid to take that step forward."

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has appealed to the Supreme Court, which may issue a new stay.

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