SAN FRANCISCO — A giant rainbow-colored flag in the gay-friendly Castro neighborhood of San Francisco was flying at half-staff on Wednesday as social and religious conservatives celebrated the passage of measures that ban same-sex marriage in California, Florida and Arizona.

NY Times Article by JESSE MCKINLEY and LAURIE GOODSTEIN

It’s disheartening that Proposition 8 passed in California. I honestly do not understand why anyone thinks it’s their business to whom one gets married.

Question: Is there a legal difference between a marriage and a civil union in California? IOW, is there a difference between a man and woman having a civil ceremony (recognized as marriage) and a man/man woman/woman having the same ceremony by the same judge?