Bills to Restrict or Interfere with the Freedom to Marry
S332 stipulates that a “bride and groom” must sign the marriage certificate (rather than “spouse and spouse”), while H3488 includes broad and unnecessary religious refusal language condemning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
These bills are brazen efforts to relitigate the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Thousands of same-sex couples have legally married in South Carolina, and they are entitled to the full dignity and respect that marriage affords to any married couple in SC.
A bipartisan supermajority of Americans support the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, including a majority in South Carolina. The Respect for Marriage Act, passed with bipartisan support through Congress in 2022, underlines that this is a settled legal question.
The freedom of religion is important – and already protected. Religious entities are already not required to solemnize marriages between same-sex couples, but this freedom of religion does not grant the state the ability to interfere with civil marriage protections.