Mass. Senate Votes to Let Out-of-State Gays Marry

clipped from news.yahoo.com Gay couples from across the country are one step closer to a Massachusetts wedding. The state Senate voted Tuesday to repeal a 1913 law used to bar out-of-state gay couples from marrying in the state. The move to repeal the law, which prohibits couples from obtaining marriage licenses if they couldn't legally wed in their home states, is driven in part by California's recent legalization of same-sex marriage. The House is expected to vote on the repeal later this week. Gov. Deval Patrick, whose 18-year-old daughter announced publicly last month that she is a lesbian, would have 10 days to sign it. The law was rarely enforced until Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2003 that the state could no longer bar gay couples from marrying. Romney, then eyeing a run for president, ordered city and town clerks to enforce the statute, although some town clerks balked.

Like most of these kind of laws, it was an overlooked and previously antiquated protection of racism. AP tells us, "The law dates to a time when the majority of states outlawed interracial marriages."

Governor Patrick says the law carries a "a racist taint," which suggests he's up to signing the repeal.

Score one more for the sane people.