More on marriage vs. civil unions

Couples Enter New Terrain in Push for Gay Marriage in Connecticut - From The New York Times:

“We want all the trappings that go with the word,” said Ms. Martin, who is raising two children with Ms. Howard in Stratford. “When you walk in some place and say that you are married, that means something. What would we say, that we are civilized? Unionized? It just doesn’t have the same ring.”

Both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage recognize the importance of words in the debate.

William B. Rubenstein, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and author of “Sexual Orientation and the Law,” said the “symbolic naming” is hard to dismiss.

“In a way, it seems that this is both a harder and easier lawsuit than what has existed elsewhere,” Mr. Rubenstein said. “It is not looking to rework a whole entire system. All that is being asked to change is very minimal, and so you are fighting over wording. But wording has held up legal battles for a long time.”