CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- South Carolina and nine other states have filed a gay marriage opposition brief to a federal appeals court in California.

The amicus brief sent Friday to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals says that the Constitution does not require marriage to include same-sex couples.

It also says that states, not federal courts, have final say in whether to allow same-sex marriages.

A federal judge ruled last month that that California's Proposition 8, a voter-passed ban on same-sex marriage, was unconstitutional. The Perry v. Schwarzenegger case is on appeal.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports that other states joining the brief are Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Wyoming, Utah and Virginia.

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Information from: Casper Star-Tribune - Casper, http://www.trib.com

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