Justices asked to toss out domestic violence law

CHARLESTON, SC

The South Carolina Supreme Court is being asked to rule the state’s Domestic Violence Law unconstitutional because it does not protect unwed same-sex couples.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports (http://bit.ly/1L7VdWZ ) attorneys petitioned the court Wednesday after a Richland County judge earlier refused to give a restraining order to a woman who was hit by her former fiancée who is also a woman.

The woman seeking the order said she felt threatened.

But the court denied the request because the law says domestic violence victims are defined as a “household member” who is a spouse, a former spouse, people who have a child in common or men and women who are living together or formerly did so.

The petition said same-sex, unmarried couples don’t have the same protections.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com