Are Civil Unions Enough?

So Obama/Biden came out with their agenda today; while I love the fact that he wants to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act, and voted against the Federal Amendment Act, and that he's all for the expansion of adoption rights to everyone regardless of sexual orientation, part of his Civil Rights Agenda sticks in my craw. When it gets to where it says "Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples." something just doesn't jibe. If you believe that we are 'equal', why are you in favor of something else that equals marriage? Why are we not getting marriage? Doesn't that still make us "separate but equal"? I should tell my grandson "Your grandmother and I got civil unioned back in 2007"? I understand that he's got a very delicate line to walk, balancing between the gay and anti-gay camps, but sooner or later it's got to be one or the other, you either make us equal or you don't. Stop throwing us a bone! If you told heterosexual people that no union of two people would be called 'marriage' anymore, that they would all be called 'civil union' or 'domestic partnership', they would go ballistic, so what makes them think that gays are any different? All we want is the same thing everyone else wants, to love the person of our choice, to commit to them, to be able to adopt their name if we choose, have and raise a family, have a home, take care of our loved one if they get sick, and if they die, have the right to take care of them as they wish. Why is that so wrong that states would change their constitution to avoid it? Why is it so wrong that people are now fighting each other over who voted which way?

President-elect Obama, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm sorry, to me it's just not enough. I want what you and Michelle and every other married heterosexual couple have. I want to marry the person I love. I want to be able to take my license down to the DMV the next day and say "I want to change my name on my drivers' license." I do not want to have to go to court and file for a name change, and pay for it, and pay to post ads in the newspaper, and then have a judge tell me six months down the road that yes, I can legally change my name. I want to be able to move to another state if we choose, and buy a home that we can own jointly. I do not want them to tell us, "Oh no, we don't recognize your union here, so you can't jointly buy a home, you have to be separate owners with each owning half." If I get terminally ill in another state, I want my loved one to be able to take me out of the hospital and bring me home. I do not want her to be told "Oh no, we don't recognize your union in this state, so you have no rights here, we have to call her family." Can you imagine President-elect Obama how Michelle would feel if she were told that she wasn't able to take you home, that she was not your family? Especially after you two have been together for years and been through all you've been through? She would go absolutely postal, and so would you!

Sir, if you are going to give us "all the federal rights" of marriage, why can't you just give us marriage? Why can't you make us equal? Separate but equal doesn't cut it, just like it didn't cut it when the blacks had to sit at their own end of the lunch counter, or use their own bathroom, or their own water fountain. We are human beings, and we want to be treated the same as everyone else. Civil Unions are just not enough.