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Article published Apr 14, 2005
Senate backs marriage bill
COLUMBIA -- The state
Senate on Wednesday approved a plan to allow voters to decide whether the
state's constitution should be amended to strengthen South Carolina's gay
marriage ban.Senators approved the constitutional amendment by a 36-1 vote, with
Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, casting the lone dissenting vote. The bill now
goes back to the House for concurrence.The Senate amended the House version to
clarify language that some senators believed prohibited people from entering
into contracts.Voters will get to have their say in the November 2006 general
election.Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, has pushed the legislation -- which
defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman -- for about two
years."I'm glad we're now able to move on to other issues," Hawkins said. "It
was a long, hard fight, and at times I had my doubts."Hawkins said the
constitutional amendment is needed because a judge could circumvent the current
ban by recognizing a gay marriage from another state."We've got judges and
mayors who are trying to overturn a long-standinginstitution," Hawkins said. "It
ought to be in the constitution. It ought to be a higher hurdle for them if they
want to make that change."Hawkins said the amendment did not infringe upon the
rights of the state's gay citizens."If you believe in gay marriage, it does
infringe upon your desire," Hawkins said. "But there's no right to a gay
marriage."Ford, who has opposed the bill from the beginning, stuck to his
convictions when it came time to vote. He said the current ban goes far
enough."We have the strongest ban on gay marriage in the country," Ford said.
"The ban was sufficient, but we had to go a step further because there are some
people in here who are trying to satisfy the evangelical Southern Baptist
churches."Sen. Glenn Reese, D-Boiling Springs, said the legislation simply
reinforces existing law."I don't really see the point of having a referendum,"
Reese said. "Hopefully it's not being put on the ballot for political reasons. I
guess we'll find out as the election gets closer."Linda Ketner, chairwoman of
the South Carolina Equality Coalition, said that the gay and lesbian community
only wanted to be treated fairly."We simply seek what all other South
Carolinians already have -- the rights and responsibilities which protect our
families," Ketner said. "We hope that the Legislature will implement civil union
legislation to fulfill our constitution's promise of equal protection under the
law."Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.