IMHO, the most salient part of the article Wolfgang linked is this: The couple said the reaction exposed the belief in parts of society, including the gay and lesbian community, that minority groups should be grateful for equal rights. "If gratitude is a condition of these rights, then they are not full and genuinely equal," the women wrote. This is happening in Australia, but this perspedtive is almost certainly universal (and it should be).

John, what you are saying is entirely true. What I find interesting is the reversal that is currently occurring in the US; without getting wrapped around the axle on terminology, there are churches which are recognizing homosexual unions while the government, in almost all jurisdictions, is not. It also remains true that such will not be recognized as real [whatever you want to call them] until significant changes are made in the law at the Federal level.