Marriage is an institution reserved for a man and a woman.

Or so a majority of states have defined in their law books.

As of today, the only state that grants same-sex couples the right to marry is Massachusetts. And despite California having San Francisco and its large, well known “out” population of homosexuals, California only allows homosexual couples to be joined through civil unions.

“Most of it is really semantics,” said Andrew Shephard, senior. “I think that the gay people are just arguing over semantics.”

Shephard said that because civil unions grant couples the rights of married couples as to health care, insurance, property rights, and other state issues, that if “they’re getting the same benefits, then they don’t really have an argument.”

The argument on the other side, though, is the lack of federal recognition of their unions. Couples joined by civil unions cannot claim the same federal benefits and married couples, such as social security and taxes. Nor do they have the guarantee that their unions will be recognized if they move to another state.

“Religion plays a big part in it,” said Kayla Eatmon, junior. “It’s the same thing, except they want to put homosexuals in their own little category because they don’t fit into the stereotypical views of society.”

The once disproved ideal of “separate but equal” is often applied to the gay marriage vs. civil unions argument and advocates claim that to prohibit same-sex couples the right to marry is to label them second-class citizens.

What both Eatmon and Shephard agree on, though, is that the government shouldn’t get involved in people’s personal affairs.

“Politicians need to stay out of it,” Eatmon said. “It’s always going to be an issue because since we’re so open then everyone has the right to have their own opinion.”

And Shephard agrees.

“I don’t think it’s really the government’s role to get involved in what people do behind closed doors,” he said. “If you want to have a gay lifestyle, then the government shouldn’t interfere.”

Advocates for gay marriage, as opposed to civil unions, respond to accusations of arguing over semantics with the claim that the word marriage comes with the symbol of validation for a couple’s love and relationship. Shephard sees that argument to be non-sensical.

“If you love the other person, then you really shouldn’t be worried about what to call it,” Shephard said.