>It's true that the point is to make one lesser than the other. But
>what Bill's right about is that this isn't finally about
>rights. Civil Unions would be less than Gay Marriage even in a
>hypothetical situation when a civil union contract offered
>substantially more rights.
I get what you're saying but wasn't rights what got the conversation started? My memory is that this first became an issue when partners of people with AIDS were barred from seeing their partners in the hospital by family members who had the legal right to keep them away.