Gay Marriage

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts on Thursday began allowing any gay couple to get married there as Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill repealing a 1913 law that had blocked most out-of-state same-sex couples from tying the knot. The old law barred couples from marrying in Massachusetts if their union would not be legal in their own states. Patrick said the repeal shows that "equal means equal" in Massachusetts, where a 2003 ruling by the state's highest court made gay marriage legal a year later. "In five years now ... the sky has not fallen, the earth has not opened to swallow us all up, and more to the point, thousands and thousands of good people — contributing members of our society — are able to make free decisions about their personal future, and we ought to seek to affirm that every chance we can," Patrick said.

• JJ Commentary: These are not Old Testament times where consequences were often immediate. Instead, in the age of grace, the law of sowing and reaping works itself out slowly, giving people time to repent. Ultimately, the judgment seat, the Great White throne awaits.