On Civil Unions

This is something I figure I should've written long ago, but never quite got round to it. All of these arguments have probably been heard by you guys before, but I'm doing this mainly to clarify my arguments in my own head. You guys reading it is merely a bonus (or anti-bonus, depending on what you think of it.) Incidentally, is there an opposite to "bonus"? Using "anti-bonus" really feels like a kludge. Anyway, to all of you outside of NZ, the civil unions bill is finally coming in front of parliament, basically allowing hetero/homo civil unions to all and sundry. I, being the die-hard liberal that I am, am obviously in favour. Why? Here goes... 0. I'm a bastard. In a technical way. My parents weren't and aren't married, so without a civil union I wouldn't be here to inflict this drudge on you, and you guys would be doing something more productive than reading these arguments. 1. Conservatives (a large part consisting of the Religious Right [as in wing]) claim that such unions detract from and tarnish marriage. If marriage is in such danger from civil unions, then it can't be such a sacred thing after all, and therefore why protect it? If it isn't strong enough to stand on its own two feet, then allowing civil unions will simply act as a catalyst. Banning such unions would only slow marriage's demise, not stop it all together. 2. There is the claim that such unions are somehow unnatural. I don't buy this. Mankind has existed for millenia, and unions took place before organized religion brought forth marriage. Even the claim that same sex civil unions are unnatural doesn't quite work. Is it unnatural to want to be in a legally recognised relationship with the one you love? I don't think many could dispute this. Obviously, it could be claimed that homosexual love is unnatural in the first place, but that's more a matter of personal opinions. Too tired to write much more now, leave comments, will probably feel in the mood for argument soonish. Disclaimer: I'm not gay, but I know a lot of gay/bi/not quite straight people, some of them family members. Just so you know where my sympathies lie.