Gay marriage/civil unions

It seems like just about everyone I read regularly has taken a stand so I thought I should speak up.
Personally, it doesn't matter to me if someone who's gay gets married or not. I think any couple that is seriously committed to one another whether they be hetro or homo should have the right to get married. Granted those marriages would be civil unions as a church couldn't be forced to perform weddings in conflict with their beliefs. Is this a burning social issue or should it be? NO. What benefit do gay people get for being married? Tax breaks? Not much. Health benefits? They damn well should - if common-law marriage partners are entitled to benefits then so should same sex partners. Survivor benefits? They should be entitled to those as well. When all is said and done, it's a piece of paper. What the fight is really for is acknowledgement of a long-term partnership and the need to stop treating same sex couples as second class citizens in alot of areas. Truly, what someone does in the privacy of their bedroom is no one else's business as long as it's between consenting adults and there are alot of people out there with purile minds that need to mind their own business. I can't see that gay marriage could be any worse than straight marriage with a divorce rate of nearly 50%. Makes me think of the US military and their "don't ask, don't tell" policy. For gawds sakes, if someone wants to volunteer to go and get his ass shot off instead of me, does it really matter if he finds men more attractive than women? Not to me. From my point of view, the only people affected by a same sex marriage are the two people involved so maybe everyone else should just butt out.
*getting off my soapbox now* LOL

Addendum: This post is dedicated to all my blogfriends who live an "alternative lifestyle" (lol) - Tony, Snicks, Pax, Anne and TC. (Happy now??)