SC attorney general makes embarrassingly bad move to stop marriage equality challenge

Wilson

You simply have to give up props to SC Attorney General Alan Wilson. He may not be on the right side of history regarding marriage equality, but he is brazen:

South Carolina's attorney general is asking a federal judge to toss out a challenge to the state's gay marriage ban.

Attorney General Alan Wilson argues in court documents filed Monday that a federal case brought by a same-sex couple in Charleston should be dismissed. He cites last week's federal appeals court decision upholding such bans in other states.

Wilson said the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that states have the right to set rules for marriage supports South Carolina's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Wilson noted the decision came in a case in which a court found no fundamental right to same-sex marriage.

The Charleston couple has asked a federal judge to rule in their favor without a trial.

There is just one problem with that. South Carolina does not fall in the jurisdiction of the Sixth District Appeals Court. The state is in the jurisdiction of the Fourth District Appeals Court. And it was that court which, earlier this year, ruled in favor of marriage equality, affirming a lower court's decision.

Last month, the Supreme Court refused to listen to challenges to that particular decision, thereby upholding the Fourth District Appeals Court's marriage equality ruling for the state's in its jurisdiction, which includes South Carolina.

The only reason why gay couples aren't getting married in the Palmetto State is because Wilson has been hemming and hawing and jumping through every hoop in an effort to keep it from happening.

It's safe to say that Wilson's attempt today affirms just how desperate he is.

Come on, Alan. Give it up and turn it loose.