Separate but not equal

I am in the middle of a trial. The lit support guy on our team is gay. His S.O. [through civil union] is falling apart and this makes our lit support guy very unhappy. It amazes me to see the pain people go through in relationships. It also a great day to see when people are happy together. The best of those days is the day of marriage.

I can't imagine saying to this person he can't get married because the person he happens to love is of the same gender. I can't imagine the lack of compassion that must exist to be able to say to a person: you can't be happy. To say you are not the same as me. It reminds me of the education arguments: separate but equal. And the civil unions some how have to be the substitute for marriage. It is separate but it certainly is not equal.