Supreme Court denies stay of S.C. same-sex marriage WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court refused to halt same-sex marriages from going forward in South Carolina, the Palmetto state. With the order, South Carolina becomes the 35th state, plus the District of Columbia to legalize gay marriage. Seven justices rejected the state's request to stay a lower court ruling that struck down the state's ban on gay marriages, which was to go into effect Thursday. The decision came after the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals refused to grant an extension on the stay Wednesday. Two justices, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, would have granted the application for a stay. A Charleston County judge issued marriage licenses to six same-sex couples Wednesday before he was ordered to wait until the federal court ruling expired at noon Thursday. Thursday's order was similar to one issued last week to allow same-sex marriages to begin in Kansas, after a federal court struck down that ban following a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling for Oklahoma and Utah. Four appellate courts, the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th circuits, have ruled against bans on same-sex marriage. With a federal court decision Wednesday night to lift the state ban in Montana, every state in those circuits recognizes gay marriages. Montana's attorney general plans to appeal the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court, where it is expected to ultimately meet the same fate as other state bans. Only the 6th Circuit Court has ruled the other way, upholding same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Challengers have asked the Supreme Court to review that decision, and the split among appellate courts is expected to force the Supreme Court to hear the case in the coming months. Order in Wilson v. Condon