Stay Classy, California

"The decision leaves intact the holding of the Marriage Cases that
gays have the fundamental "right to marry" under the California
constitution, now and in the future; but unless and until the
California constitution is again amended to the contrary, such unions
cannot be called marriage." -- some lawyer guy on the net

When I was in college, someone asked me if I was "partners" with my
lab partner, and I said yes. About two weeks later, I sat up and said
"hey, wait..."

I like words like "married", "husband", "wife", "spouse", "boyfriend",
"girlfriend". They are short and unambiguous. Everyone knows what
they mean. So, apart from any questions about anyone's rights and the
pernicious effects of separate-but-equal, I intend to use the
conventional words when they apply to a gay couple, purely out of
self-interest. The law, being the law, can be as abstruse as it
wants. Over the long term, I expect most folks will go with the
familiar words, because they are the right ones.