Reply #36: You almost understand my point.

[rateyes]

If, legally speaking, marriage is civil, then how can a "marriage" be "DOWNGRADED to a civil union?" In the eyes of the law, a "marriage" is NOTHING BUT a "civil union," in the eyes of the law. And, why should you, if you enjoy the same rights under the law as all hetero couples in the "civil union" called "marriage," by the state, then why do you need the STATE to recognize your civil union as a marriage in order to be "happy?"

As you say, you are "married" in your own eyes, and you have, in the eyes of the law, a relationship which is recognized by your state as equal to the civil union called "marriage."

So, who is the one upset over "semantics?"