marriage != gay marriage

We’re not talking about any tangible legal rights here, such as inheritance, visitation, tax deductions, etc., all of which could be granted with little public outcry. We’re talking about changing the legal definition of a word, marriage, irrespective of any actual rights and privileges. Some gay activists want legal recognition that the word marriage means homosexual unions as well as heterosexual unions, that they are the same thing. Gay marriages may be every bit as wonderful as straight marriages, but they are not the same thing. Men and women are equal, but they are not the same. I like apples and oranges, but they are not the same. Some gays feel that not having the word means their relationship is not respected. Some heteros feel that changing the word means that their relationship is not respected. That is the only right that is being considered, and it is a right that would be given to some by taking it away from others. The primary intent of this crusade, not the only one, but the primary one, is to piss people off. Why not issue male homosexual union certificates and female homosexual union certificates? Why not call things what they are?