When a federal judge in Massachusetts declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional last week, marriage equality advocates celebrated while anti-gay groups grumbled.  But two political centers of gravity–the White House and key Tea Party movement leaders–didn’t want to talk about it.

In fact, a Washington Post story this morning finds some Tea Partiers quietly expressing support for a decision that reinforces states’ rights over the power of the federal government:

“I do think it’s a state’s right,” said Phillip Dennis, Texas state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots. The group does not take a position on social issues, he said, but personally, “I believe that if the people in Massachusetts want gay people to get married, then they should allow it, just as people in Utah do not support abortion. They should have the right to vote against that.”

Everett Wilkinson, state director for the Florida Tea Party Patriots, agreed: “On the issue [of gay marriage] itself, we have no stance, but any time a state’s rights or powers are encouraged over the federal government, it is a good thing.”

Some reports describe the Tea Party movement as libertarian, but it’s clear many in its ranks don’t support marriage equality.  A New York Times/CBS News poll last April found that just 16 percent of those who support the movement are in favor of allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Meanwhile the White House is keeping a low profile in the wake of the DOMA decision.  The administration still must decide how it will respond, though most observers expect it will appeal the ruling to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.  And while some activists are pushing for the White House to let the decision stand, others wonder whether that would set a dangerous precedent, according to an Associated Press report:

“You want the Department of Justice to stop because you won a case; I understand that,” said [Robert] Raben, who worked at the department during the administration of President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law.

“But you could have a conservative Department of Justice that won’t enforce hate crimes, that won’t enforce employment nondiscrimination acts, that won’t enforce the Ryan White Act, that won’t enforce all kinds of new protections for gays and lesbians because the attorney general doesn’t agree with them. That’s not a regime you want to live in.”