U.S. judge overturns South Carolina's gay marriage ban By Harriet McLeod and Lawrence Hurley CHARLESTON S.C./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday struck down South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that the state is bound by a regional federal appeals court decision that struck down Virginia's similar law. The ruling, along with decisions last week rejecting bans in Missouri, West Virginia and Kansas, are the latest in a series across the nation in which federal district courts have thrown out gay marriage bans. Gay marriage is legal in 32 of the 50 states. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel in Charleston said his decision will not take effect for one week to allow South Carolina time to appeal. That could allow same-sex couples to file for marriage licenses or in some cases begin receiving them starting on Nov. 20 if the state is unable to obtain a further delay via the courts. "We're ecstatic," said Colleen Condon, 44, who filed the lawsuit heard by Gergel after she and fiancée Nichols Bleckley, 43, were denied a marriage license in Charleston last month. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a Republican, said he would appeal Wednesday's ruling. "We believe this office has an obligation to defend state law as long as we have a viable path to do so," Wilson said. In his ruling, Gergel said he found no meaningful distinction between South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage and the ban declared unconstitutional in Virginia. South Carolina is one of five states that are bound by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to strike down Virginia's ban. Although gay marriage advocates have had the upper hand in the legal battle over the past year, the landscape changed last week when a Cincinnati-based regional federal appeals court became the first to uphold gay marriage bans. That decision by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals backing bans in four states created a split within the courts and increased the chances that the Supreme Court will rule once and for all whether states have the right to ban gay marriage. The high court has so far declined to take up any cases that would lead to a definitive ruling on gay marriage. In October, it allowed gay marriage to proceed in five states, including Virginia, when it refused to hear appeals in seven cases. Separately, Kansas has asked the Supreme Court to block a ruling striking down that state's ban as litigation continues. Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Will Dunham