BOSTON (AP) - Gov. Deval Patrick is set to sign a bill that will allow gay couples who live outside Massachusetts to marry in the state.

A spokesman for the governor says the signing ceremony will take
place at noon Thursday in the Statehouse. The change in the law
will take effect immediately because the Legislature attached a
provision waiving the customary 90-day waiting period.

The bill repeals a 1913 law that said couples could not marry in
Massachusetts if their unions would be illegal in their home
states.

The law has blocked same-sex couples who live outside of
Massachusetts from getting married in the state, which began
allowing gay weddings in 2004.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)