Romney says ruling exports gay marriage

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said a Massachusetts Superior Court ruling Friday will have the effect of exporting same-sex marriage into neighboring Rhode Island.

The ruling said two Rhode Island women have the right to marry in Massachusetts because their home state doesn't explicitly ban gay marriage.

"Of course, same-sex couples are not currently being married in Rhode Island," Romney, a Republican who has been considering a run for president, said in a letter to Attorney General Thomas Reilly. "Today's ruling must be appealed," he said Friday.

Reilly, a Democrat, said he won't appeal. "Pursuing this matter further in the courts would be a waste of time and resources," he said in a statement.

Massachusetts lawmakers in 2004 became the first in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.

Romney then ordered town clerks to deny marriage licenses to out-of-state gay and lesbian couples, citing a 1913 law that bans marriages in Massachusetts unless the couple's home state would recognize the union.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said the ruling didn't really have any bearing on his state's policies, regardless of Romney's assertion.

"This ruling does not authorize same-sex marriages in Rhode Island, and it does not mean Rhode Island will recognize a same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts," Lynch, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Only the Rhode Island legislature or a Rhode Island court can decide if same-sex marriage is valid in Rhode Island."