Out-of-state
lesbian couple marries in Massachusetts

A lesbian couple from Rhode Island who won the right to marry in Massachusetts held their ceremony Sunday. After being denied a marriage license in Massachusetts, Wendy Becker and Mary Norton challenged a 1913 state law that prohibits out-of-state residents from marrying if the union would not be permitted in their home state.

They argued that same-sex marriage was not specifically banned in Rhode Island. Superior court judge Thomas Connolly agreed last month, saying he saw no evidence of a ''constitutional amendment, statute, or controlling appellate decision'' making same-sex marriage illegal in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island governor Don Carcieri, a Republican who opposes same-sex marriage, said through a spokesman that he has no plans to try to revise the state's laws.

Becker and Norton have been together for 18 years and have two children, 3-year-old Mickey and 6-year-old Hannah. Becker works at Rhode Island College, Norton at Brown Medical School. The couple said they started planning their wedding almost as soon as the ruling was issued on September 29. About 50 people attended the ceremony in Attleboro, Mass.

''People take a year to pull off a wedding, so it's been a busy few days, but we've been emotionally planning since much longer than that,'' Becker said. (AP)