BOSTON (AP) – Gay couples from across the country could be getting the green light to marry in Massachusetts after three of the state’s top political leaders said they support repealing a 94-year-old law that has blocked the practice.

While gay couples living in Massachusetts have been free to marry since 2004, following a ruling by the state Supreme Judicial Court, couples from other states have been barred from tying the knot here.

What legal weight those certificates would carry once the couples returned home is an open question. Most states prohibit gay marriage, but a Massachusetts certificate could provide couples with the foundation for legal challenges.

So far, only Rhode Island allows its gay couples to wed in Massachusetts after a Rhode Island judge ruled last September that the state’s laws do not explicitly ban same-sex marriages.

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney opposed nuptials by out-of-state gay couples, citing the 1913 law that bars Massachusetts from marrying couples who would be prevented from marrying in their home states.

Romney said repealing the law would turn Massachusetts into “the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage.”

Massachusetts’ new governor, Deval Patrick, a Democrat who supports gay marriage, has promised to sign a repeal.

“I know that the 1913 law has sort of smelly origins,” Patrick said. “I think it’s outdated. If it passes the Legislature and comes to my desk, I’ll sign it.”

Opponents of the law say it was originally approved as part of a deal with states that barred interracial marriages and didn’t want couples fleeing to Massachusetts to marry.

Supporters of the law say there’s little evidence to support that claim. They say with so many other states banning same-sex marriage, it makes little sense for Massachusetts to marry out-of-state gay couples.

“Massachusetts should not become the Mecca for gay marriage. We should not interfere with the sovereignty of other states,” said Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which is pushing a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn gay marriage in Massachusetts. “It’s really a bad decision to open these floodgates.”

But Mineau concedes the tide may be against him on Beacon Hill.

The Massachusetts Senate recently elected a new pro-gay marriage president, Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, who says she supports ending the 1913 law. She replaced former senate President Robert Travaglini, who voted in favor of the constitutional amendment barring gay marriage.

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston, also supports repealing the 1913 law.

Gay activists concede they have a good chance of repealing the 1913 law, but say they are focusing first on defeating the proposed constitutional amendment barring gay marriage.

They need to garner the support of 151 of 200 lawmakers to block the question from reaching voters on the 2008 ballot.

“There’s no point working on the 1913 law if we lose that vote,” said Arline Isaacson, co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus.

But repealing the 1913 law could quickly move to the top of their agenda. Bills have already been filed in the House and Senate, although they haven’t been acted on yet.

Erasing the 1913 law would be a moral and economic victory for the state – and could help spread same-sex marriage to other states once the married couples return to their homes – according to Marc Solomon, campaign director for MassEquality, a gay rights group.

“We would have same sex couples who love one another, who are committed to each other, getting married and maybe spending a little bit of dough in Boston or on the Cape or Western Mass.,” he said. “I think it would be a terrific symbol.”

The victory would be largely symbolic at first.

The vast number of states already have laws or constitutional amendments specifically barring same sex marriages. A marriage certificate might let a couple mount a legal challenge, but there’s no guarantee the marriage would be recognized.

That kind of legal chaos is a good argument to keep the 1913 law in place, according to Brian Camenker, leader of MassResistance, a group opposed to gay marriage.

“The whole reason that the gay lobby wants this overturned is for that reason, so they can disrupt the whole situation regarding marriage in other states and cause as much trouble as they can across the country,” he said.

“A lot of people have ignored what’s happening in Massachusetts but this will get their attention,” he added.

AP-ES-04-08-07 1639EDT