Didn't the state learn anything during the war between the states...Federal law trumps state law. At least that's what I always thought till one day ago.
The State is something beyond both FedGov and state government. The governments are not the State, but part of the State. It is an abstract entity not always clearly perceived. Partly this is due to confusion of different meanings of the word. I capitalize State to indicate the abstract entity in this technical sense.