Charleston LGBTQ community reacts to House passing same-sex marriage bill

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Some members of the Charleston LGBTQ community say Thursday’s passage of the Respect for Marriage Act is a positive step, but the fight still continues.

Colleen Condon is living through marriage equality herself. She and her wife sued the state back in 2014 for marriage equality. She says the House outcome was a relief after some sleepless nights.

Condon, who is on the board for the Alliance for Full Acceptance, says her reaction was “very mixed” because she’s glad marriage will be recognized across the country and her marriage won’t be dissolved, but she worries that if Obergefell v Hodges is overturned, that South Carolina could stop issuing marriage license to same sex couples.

The Respect for Marriage Act would not require states to allow same-sex couples to marry, but it would require states to recognize all marriages that were legal when they were performed if Obergefell v Hodges was ever overturned.

She says it’s a little disconcerting that the state isn’t forced to fully comply.

“I want the same thing most people want. I want a person who I share my life with, both emotionally and financially, that we’re a team, that together we’re stronger together,” Condon said. “I’m not asking for any extraordinary rights, I’m not asking for anything special, we’re not asking for gay marriage, we’re asking for marriage, the same thing.”

Condon says with Biden eventually signing this bill into law it’s a positive step for marriage equality, but the fight is not over and organizations around the state are “gearing up for battle.” Condon says it doesn’t address the concerns of teens that may be going through gender transitions, but she hopes this latest news brings some support and recognition to them.

LGBTQ+ advocate Elliott Cumbee says today’s outcome in the House gave him a little bit of hope and it’s encouraging to finally see some kind of policy being passed to protect LGBTQ and interracial couples to have the right to marriage and have that marriage protected. But he says, there’s also some skepticism and nervousness in the community.

“There’s no room to be complacent,” Cumbee said. “You take this little victory but then you also use it to fuel your fight and keep going.”

Cumbee’s message to others in the LGBTQ community in Charleston is to use this as motivation to keep the fight going.

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