
South Carolina
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See S.C. Code Ann. § 1-13-80 (2001)
All government employees are protected by the U.S. Constitution against irrational discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, some measure of protection already exists under Title VII based on gender, which has been held to include gender identity and expression.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several courts have interpreted Title VII to protect LGBT employees. Lambda Legal maintains that the EEOC adjudications regarding Title VII’s coverage should supersede contrary authority that exists in some federal circuits.
YES, South Carolina has a criminal law that punishes people with an HIV diagnosis specifically for nondisclosure of HIV status prior to sexual conduct. A violation of this statute is classified as a felony.
YES, in recent years, there has been at least one criminal prosecution for HIV nondisclosure in South Carolina.
YES, South Carolina also has laws that criminalize or enhance penalties for biting, spitting and/or throwing bodily fluids or substances (such as urine or excrement) if a person has been diagnosed with HIV, despite the fact that none of these activities presents any real risk of HIV transmission. In South Carolina, these laws only apply in the correctional setting.
NO, South Carolina does not have laws that enhance penalties for HIV-positive people involved in commercial sexual transactions, but that does not mean that a prosecutor could not argue for an enhanced sentence in such a situation based on the defendant’s HIV-positive status, if the prosecutor has access to that information, or attempt to bring separate charges under an HIV-specific nondisclosure statute or the general criminal laws.
May be granted in some jurisdictions. No appellate decisions. Results likely vary by county and by judge. Anyone considering petitioning for a second parent adoption should contact, or have their counsel contact, Lambda Legal.
Post-Obergefell, it seems that S.C. Code Ann. 63-9-1110 may allow second parent adoptions: "Any person may adopt his spouse's child, and any person may adopt a child to whom he is related by blood or marriage."
Conservative legal climate but some favorable appellate decisions on child custody or visitation.
S.C. Code Ann. § 59-63-110 (2006)
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