When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June, the historic ruling started a quiet race to federal courthouses in Texas by same-sex couples seeking to overturn the state law forbidding them from marrying.

In first place to the courthouse: two pro se plaintiffs, Christopher McNosky of Colleyville and Sven Stricker of Bedford. Largely unnoticed by the media, they filed the first such lawsuit against state officials on July 29 in Austin federal court.