Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is interested if not in though a formal announcement has yet to be made. On Tuesday, the well-known, highly respected and the first female Attorney General in the history of the Commomwealth picked up the nomination papers becaming the "first" candidate in a special election for the Senate seat left open by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Since becoming Attorney General in January 2007, she has focused on a variety of issues affecting the citizens of the Commonwealth, including cyber crime, identity theft, home foreclosures, access to affordable healthcare, and environmental protection.

More from the Boston Globe:

Attorney General Martha Coakley this morning picked up nomination papers to run for the Senate seat of Edward M. Kennedy, becoming the first candidate to throw a hat in the ring for what promises to be a fierce five-month-long race.

Coakley's nascent campaign picked up the documents from the secretary of state's elections division. She now needs to gather 10,000 certified voter signatures to qualify for the Dec. 8 Democratic primary. Those signatures must be submitted to city and town election officials for certification by Oct. 20.

Coakley has been quietly been putting together her Senate campaign over the past year, but has yet to announce officially. She has told associates she will run for the seat even if a Kennedy family member enters the race. Joseph P. Kennedy II is said to be eyeing the race; people close to the family have said the late senator's wife, Vicki, is not interested in the seat. Three members of Congress -- Edward J. Markey, Stephen F. Lynch, and Michael Capuano -- are also considering running.

In addition, Gloucester attorney Ed O'Reilly said in an email to Globe that he is "seriously considering" entering the race. O'Reilly unsuccessfully challenged Senator John F. Kerry in last year's Democratic primary. He got 31 percent of the vote. He said he will make a decision after Labor Day.

I'm thankful, I suppose, that I don't live in the Bay State because I would have a hard time choosing between Ms. Coakley whose tenacity and dedication is admirable and Ed 0'Reilly who is a true working class Democrat.

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Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a lawsuit against the US government in Federal Court seeking Federal marriage benefits for the approximately 16,000 gay and lesbian couples who have legally wed in Massachusetts over the past five years. The state is challenging the constitutionality of the Clinton-era Federal 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), arguing that the law denies "essential rights and protections" to same-sex couples who have married since Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to legalize gay weddings back in 2004. The suit mirrors a similar suit filed by gay and lesbian couples back in March.

"In enacting DOMA, Congress overstepped its authority, undermined states' efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and codified an animus toward gay and lesbian people," the state's 32-page complaint said. More from Reuters:

The state is challenging the constitutionality of the federal 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, saying the law denies "essential rights and protections" to same-sex couples who have married since Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to legalize gay weddings in 2004.

The federal law interferes with the state's "sovereign authority to define and regulate marriage," according to the suit filed in federal court in Boston. It calls the law "overreaching and discriminatory."

The suit is the latest skirmish over gay marriage in the U.S. federal court system after handful of political filmmakers led by a Democratic consultant crafted a gay rights challenge in May that they hope will reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

It also follows a separate lawsuit filed by a group of married gay couples in Massachusetts in March that also challenged the same portion of the Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.

Although Massachusetts and five other U.S. states have authorized gay marriage, same-sex couples who are legally married in those states cannot access the federal protections and programs granted to straight married couples.

The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, denies gay and lesbian couples access to more than 1,000 federal programs and legal protections, gay rights advocates say.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who filed the suit, cited several benefits denied gay couples, including federal income tax credits, employment and retirement benefits, health insurance coverage, and Social Security payments.

"We view all married persons equally," Coakley told a news conference.

Your thoughts? Is it preferable to have DOMA overturned in the courts or by Congress? Another question to consider is how will the Obama DOJ respond?

Update [2009-7-8 22:35:43 by Charles Lemos]: The story in the Boston Globe.

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