State Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, thinks South Carolina voters got it wrong in November 2006 when they overwhelmingly passed a state Constitutional amendment making marriage between one man and one woman the only legal domestic union. "I think it's unconstitutional," Sen. Ford says of the amendment.
Because of that and the Democratic National Committee's platform plant to encourage states to adopt civil unions, Sen. Ford has introduced the Civil Union Equality Act. It would allow same-sex civil unions in the state that would have all the benefits, privileges, rights and responsibilities of marriage.
"You just can't close the doors on people's rights," Sen. Ford says. "If they feel they have a right to a civil union, and if enough voters agree with that then we're gonna have it."
But getting his bill through the Statehouse isn't all he's up against. Voters would have to pass a new Constitutional amendment to undo the one that passed in 2006, since it says a marriage between one man and one woman is the only lawful domestic union that shall be valid or recognized in the state.
Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville, doesn't think Sen. Ford's bill has a chance. "There's no support for same-sex marriage in the General Assembly, probably because in this regard...the General Assembly is a reflection of the public at large in South Carolina." The 2006 amendment passed 78 percent to 22 percent.
But Sen. Ford says he'll keep pushing this, even if it fails this year. "If it wasn't for change, we wouldn't have an African-American as President of the United States. So change is something that I've been working on all my life, so we're going to continue to pursue this issue until we get the change we need and to satisfy the gay and lesbian community," he says.
In the U.S., only five other states have civil unions: California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Vermont.
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