Regardless of whether you hold to a vision of an "ideal society" or not, it's evident that if we want to live in a free and open society that inclusion is better than discrimination, the extension of equal rights under the law is better than disenfranchisment, and freedom is better than the lack of it. That this country is still grappling with the logic and nature of liberal democracy after 200 years is a testament to its political retardation. The right for gay people to enter into a legal contractual agreement and to enjoy the rights and privileges already afforded to other members of this society is a civil rights issue. That you've turned it into social engineering plot (hypothetically or otherwise) misses the point of, not to mention the history of, the gay marriage/civil union struggle.