Mass judge allows out-of-state gay couple to wed

BOSTON, Sep 30 (Reuters) A Massachusetts Superior Court judge ruled that a lesbian couple from Rhode Island could marry in Massachusetts because Rhode Island does not have a law specifically banning it.

The same-sex couple would be the first from outside of Massachusetts to marry in the only US state where gay marriage is legal, a step long-sought by gay rights advocates and opposed by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and conservative Christian groups.

Massachusetts' highest court ruled in 2003 that it was unconstitutional to ban gay marriage, paving the way for America's first same-sex marriages in May the following year. Since then, more than 8,000 gay couples have wed.

Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Thomas E Connolly ruled that the wedding of Wendy Becker and Mary Norton, of Providence, could go forward because Rhode Island has no laws specifically banning same-sex marriages.

REUTERS MQA PM0930