A group of homosexual gay marriage advocates are arguing that state law should trump federal law. Wow! I didn’t see this coming. Wait. I thought anybody who said they wanted to return power to the states was really just speaking top secret racist segregationist redneck code.

But seven gay couples and three widowers who married in Massachusetts are now saying that because the state has recognized their marriages the federal government should pony up with the federal benefits.

Of course, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) stands in the way of that so the couples filed a lawsuit calling DOMA discriminatory hoping to have the federal law removed .

The AP reports:

The couples include a Social Security Administration retiree who was denied health insurance for his spouse; three widowers who were denied death benefits for funeral expenses; and couples who have paid more in taxes because they are not allowed to file joint returns.

Mary Bonauto, an attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said the 1996 law, known as DOMA, got the federal government involved in regulating marriage, something it had left to the states for more than 200 years. She said the law denies gay couples access to more than 1,000 federal programs and legal protections in which marriage is a factor…

The lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording Social Security and other benefits to same-sex couples.

The Justice Department lawyer tasked with fighting this in court has made it clear that the Obama administration actually sides with the gay couples but that the Justice Department is required to defend federal law.

But the couples obviously believe that state law should trump federal law at least in this case. An interesting and at least a little ironic position for liberals, isn’t it? But us conservative types are a welcoming sort. We’ll make room for all those gay racist segregationist rednecks at the next Tea Party.