Calling it a civil union, or being willing to allow the gays to pay for a lawyer to draw up contracts to protect their families is as 'civil' as asking us to sit at the back of the bus, or drink from that fountain over there. Sure, the seats are comfy and the water is wet, yet it diminishes me and mine as less than fully human.
Civil unions is a clear message that we are not worthy---it's marriage lite, without full protection or respect for our commitment to each other, leaving us and our children vulnerable to the vagaries of popular opinion.
Of course I understand why people fight it, because it weakens the arsenal of bigotry---if we call it marriage, it 'legitimizes' homosexuality. Give the blessings of government sanctioned marriage to 'the gays' and our children will grow up thinking it's, gasp, "normal". How ever will we be able to teach them 'the gays' are demons when they are registering for gifts at the china store? The most threatening thing about gay marriage is that it makes us less threatening.