SC Woman Files Lawsuit Over Same-Sex Separation

A South Carolina woman has filed a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage ban.

In the case filed this week in Greenville County, Cathy Swicegood of Mauldin says she wants a divorce from her partner of more than a decade.

Swicegood says she and Polly Thompson lived together for more than a decade and should be considered to be married under the common law. The pair split last year, and Swicegood says she's entitled to benefits now that their union is over.

South Carolina passed a law banning same-sex marriage in 1996, and voters passed a similar constitutional amendment in 2006.

Swicegood wants a South Carolina judge to recognize her union with Thompson, their separation and order that their joint property be equitably divided.