ENCINITAS, Calif. (AP) – San Diego County has denied marriage benefits to a lesbian couple who received their marriage license in San Francisco last month because the state does not recognize same-sex marriage, it said.

Sarah Hubbard and Barbara Herrera were the first gay couple to be turned down for benefits the county provides to heterosexual married couples.

After their Feb. 16 marriage, Hubbard, a 39-year-old San Diego County deputy sheriff, applied for married benefits, and her application was approved. But the county revoked it on March 22, citing an administrative error for the original approval.

Hubbard said her marriage should be considered valid until the California Supreme Court rules otherwise.

The county will continue to follow state law, which defines marriage as a contract between a man and a woman until a ruling is made, County Counsel John Sansone said.

Action taken by the mayor of San Francisco cannot supersede state law, he said.

The county provides domestic partnership benefits to Herrera and the couple’s children, but those benefits are not comparable to the benefits that are given to married couples.

Hubbard and Herrera, who have been a couple 18 years and have raised four children, live in Santee and have a holistic health-care business in Encinitas.

“All we want are the same human rights everyone else is afforded. They are afforded the protections and privileges of marriage,” Hubbard said.