Calif. couple attack federal law on gays

SANTA ANA, Calif., June 24 (UPI) -- A newly married gay couple in California have filed a legal challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies many benefits to same-sex couples.

Their lawyer says he will use President Obama's criticism of the act during an Aug. 6 hearing in federal court in Orange County, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

The act bars same-sex couples from filing joint federal income tax returns or being eligible for Social Security benefits as spouses or survivors. It also allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages in those states -- there are now five -- where they are legal.

Obama recently signed an executive order giving some limited benefits to gays working for the federal government. At the time, he criticized the Defense of Marriage Act.

Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer of Mission Viejo, the plaintiffs in the case, got married in California during the brief period when it was legal.