"If marriage can't be applied equitably"

It can be. Civil marriage is a civil union, nothing more, nothing less. Some religionists' hangups about legally calling my marriage the same thing as their marriage are not my problem. Or rather, they shouldn't be my problem.

Basically, this whole issue is that a large group of Americans are unable to grasp the semantic difference between "legal marriage" and their particular religious sacrament of marriage. Frustrating? Yes. Surprising? No.