After a surprise speech to the state’s top court, Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday he would resign his military reserve position if forced to choose between that and his job as governor.

In a rare breach of S.C. Supreme Court protocol, Sanford asked for and was given permission to speak. He then told the five justices, who are considering whether state law allows him to hold both jobs, that his commission as an Air Force Reserve first lieutenant has made him a better governor and father.

“I fell in love with the United States military during my six years in Congress, and I decided that I wanted to teach ... my four boys to serve in the military,” he said.

Later, at a press conference, Sanford said he would his resign his military commission if it “came down between the two.”

“My primary responsibility is to the people of South Carolina as governor,” he said.

Sanford received his commission in January 2002, a year before he took office as governor. During his election campaign, his critics accused him of joining the Reserve solely to get votes.

An Air Force Reserve spokeswoman said Wednesday that if necessary, Sanford could choose either to resign or place himself on inactive status, allowing him to remain in the Reserve.

The Supreme Court is under no deadline to rule, though decisions often come within several months of hearings.

Eldon Wedlock, a USC constitutional law professor, said he couldn’t recall a Supreme Court case in which a governor addressed the court formally. “I don’t think they will give any weight to (Sanford’s) statement.”

Sanford quietly took notes Wednesday as lawyers made their arguments to the five justices. Chief Justice Jean Toal welcomed Sanford before his lawyer, Vance Bettis of Columbia, began his presentation.

After the justices had finished hearing the oral arguments, they stood up and began filing out of the Gervais Street courtroom. That’s when Sanford, who had been sitting in the front row, unexpectedly stepped forward and asked permission to speak.

“My lawyer is in a panic at this moment,” joked Sanford, who is not a lawyer. He said afterward he had “never been in a courtroom before.”

Toal said it was “highly unusual to allow a lay person and a client” to speak during a hearing. But she allowed Sanford to proceed after receiving no objection from retired Greenville businessman Edward Sloan Jr. — the man who brought the case.

Sanford shook the 74-year-old man’s hand afterward, telling him he “very much appreciated” him “bringing this issue forward,” though pointing out they were “on opposite sides of this coin.”

Sloan said he was “defending the constitution as it was written.”

“I have no opinion about his capabilities. My sole intent is the constitution says one thing, and it has not yet been enforced.”

Sloan, who ran a construction firm, has made a habit in retirement of filing suit against public agencies and other groups. He has said he has nothing personal against Sanford and supported him in last year’s election.

Sloan earlier this year filed a petition directly to the Supreme Court without seeking lower court action. The high court accepted the case under its “original jurisdiction” power, which allows for first-time review of purely constitutional questions.

Sloan’s lawyer, James Carpenter of Greenville, told the justices Wednesday that Sanford has no choice under the S.C. Constitution but to give up his Reserve commission. The constitution bans the governor from holding “any office or other commission.”

“As long as he bears that commission in the Reserves, he is temporarily disabled from serving as governor,” making him a “de-facto governor,” Carpenter said.

Every S.C. constitution since 1776 has banned the governor from holding other positions while in office, he said, explaining that the governor’s “sole loyalty” is supposed to be “to the people of South Carolina.”

Carpenter said he was not suggesting Sanford is disloyal by serving in the Reserve. But, he added, “When you see our governor ... facing the prospect of a long-term deployment over in Iraq or Southeast Asia or who knows where, then I think you’ve got your attention divided.”

Carpenter has said the Supreme Court could invalidate Sanford’s election and any laws signed by him. Toal said Wednesday the court would not need to go that far if it ruled only that Sanford must give up his reservist position.

Bettis, Sanford’s lawyer, argued the state constitution allows governors to serve in militias — citizen-soldier groups that he said include the Air Force Reserve. He pointed out that federal law permits the transfer of members of state National Guard units to federal military reserves.

Although the state Supreme Court cannot force the Air Force Reserve to relieve Sanford of his commission,” such a ruling probably “would allow him to disentangle himself from the Air Force,” Bettis said.

“It is a pretty simple procedure,” said Lt. Col. Audrey Bahler, an Air Force Reserve public affairs officer in Washington, D.C.

Sanford could voluntarily resign or transfer to an inactive status that would allow him to remain in the Reserve but would exempt him from training or other duties, Bahler said. Either option would take a relatively short time to accomplish, she said.

If Sanford’s unit deployed, however, then he would not be able to resign, Bahler said.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.