Well, the First Circuit says that it's up to the states,
"Many Americans believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and most Americans live in states where that is the law today," the First Circuit wrote. "One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage. Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest."
IOW, the Feds don't want anything to do with laws DEFINING marriage, but they'll protect the rights of the states to make their own calls. MA was just being ********* about granting benefits (which is amusing because other states that don't recognize SSM are granting benefits).?