COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on a South Carolina court’s ruling on domestic violence protections for unmarried same-sex couples (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
South Carolina’s top prosecutor wants a court to reconsider its ruling that found part of the state’s criminal domestic violence law unconstitutional when it comes to unmarried same-sex couples.
South Carolina’s highest court says people in same-sex relationships should get the same legal protections against domestic violence as heterosexual couples.
Attorney General Alan Wilson says he’ll ask the state Supreme Court to reconsider its Wednesday ruling. The court had been asked to weigh in after a woman tried to get a protective order against her former fiancée, also a woman, and was denied.
Wilson says he supports an approach to “reconcile our state’s domestic violence laws with U.S. Supreme Court precedent” but that his office has defended the constitutionality of the current law. The current law only allows the state to protect spouses, former spouses and people with children in common.
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10 a.m.
South Carolina’s highest court says people in same-sex relationships should get the same legal protections against domestic violence as heterosexual couples.
The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a portion of the state’s criminal domestic violence statute is unconstitutional. The court had been asked to weigh in after a woman tried to get a protective order against her former fiancée, also a woman, and was denied.
Current law defines “household members” as a spouse, former spouse, people with a child in common, or men and women who are or have lived together. It does not include unmarried same-sex couples.
The Ohio Supreme Court in 2016 adopted the use of gender-neutral references in family court cases. California and Massachusetts proactively changed language in their laws.
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