US Supreme Court refuses to block SC gay marriages

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block gay marriages in South Carolina.

The high court on Thursday denied a request by Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson. He had wanted the marriages blocked while he challenges a judge’s recent decision that opened the way for the marriages.

On Wednesday, the first marriage licenses were issued in Charleston and a lesbian couple exchanged vows on the courthouse steps.

South Carolina is one of nearly three dozen states where gay marriages have taken place. In Montana on Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that state’s ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.