To me, marriage is a holy sacrament between a man, a woman and God. I was raised ultra-conservative and, while I've certainly overcome most of the "thou shalt nots" of my early years, marriage is still sacred to me.
I can't presume to speak for the various homosexual couples out there, but I think it's safe to say that many of them also follow a religious faith. In western society, many heterosexual couples who wish to make a public statement of the love and the commitment that they share choose to be married. And for many of those, they might view it as what you said, Anubis, a holy sacrament between them and God.
For a homosexual couple, what's to stop them from feeling the same way? So for similar reasons that the word "marriage" is important to you, then it might also be for them.
And I was not aware until just before posting this of the various legal hoops that couples in legal unions have to jump through, so that could easily be an issue for many. I don't remember how soon after same-sex marriage was legalized in California that talk started about placing a proposition on the ballot to oppose it, but it wasn't long - so I can understand why many people might have waited to see what would happen. Assuming that Proposition 8 isn't overturned, what happens to the couples who did indeed marry here in California in the interim months? Their marriage would no longer be valid - even though they would have had the opportunity to share their joy in a marriage ceremony, that would be yanked out from under them, and all they'd have left is a bittersweet memory. I wouldn't want that to happen to me.
Kathy
