Whew! Finally!!! I suspected that you were getting at this, but for some reason didn't want to express it as, "government-recognized civil union for all, but no recognized marriage."
Only now you have to explain why it is not okay for the government to be in the "marriage business" but is perfectly alright, for some reason, to be in the "civil union business."
“Only now you have to explain why it is not okay for the government to be in the “marriage business” but is perfectly alright, for some reason, to be in the “civil union business.”
Easy, marriage is a religious sacrament, civil unions are secular.