Marriage bigotry update in SC

Voters in South Carolina will have the opportunity to weigh in on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage next year. An amendment protecting traditional marriage, which was previously passed by the state's Senate, also passed in the House by voice vote April 26. As a result, the measure will be placed on the November 2006 ballot in South Carolina, putting the state on a list with three others -- Alabama, South Dakota, and Tennessee -- that will also be voting on state constitutional marriage amendments next year. So far, 18 U.S. states have already adopted such amendments, approving them by an average 70 percent margin. According to a Baptist Press report, there was broad bipartisan support for what South Carolina Rep. Greg Delleney called "just another protection against activist judges in other states." The state constitutional amendment declares, in part, that a marriage between one man and one woman is "the only lawful domestic union that shall be valid or recognized in this State."