Mass. To Allow Out-Of-State Gay Marriage
(Boston, Mass.) The Massachusetts House has repealed a 1913 law used to bar the marriages of same-sex couples who are residents of states which would not recognize their unions. The measure already has passed the Senate and Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has said he will sign it.
The House voted 118-35 Tuesday to repeal the law, originally passed when interracial marriage was legal in Massachusetts but not in most other parts of the country.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state bans on interracial marriage, the Massachusetts law fell into disuse.
California, the only other state to allow same-sex marriage, has no out-of-state limitation.
However, when the Massachusetts high court struck down the state ban on same-sex marriage in 2003, then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) dusted off the old law, threatening to charge local clerks if they issued marriage licenses to out-of-state same-sex couples.
clipped from: www.365gay.com