"Marriage equality" is social engineering at work. There is nothing of "equality" about it. When I asked gay activists what the difference between a domestic partnership and marriage in California was, the answer was "the name." That just goes to show this movement is not about equal tax treatment or visitation rights or survivor rights or anything of the sort. This is all about distorting the sacred institution of marriage. This is about gay rights activists attacking religion in the guise of equality and fairness. They preach tolerance and not subjecting others to personal beliefs and yet the gay rights proponents want to force their view on all of society and indoctrinate our children and suppress our ability to live our conscience.
With almost all polls closed, it looks like same-sex marriage bills in Maryland, Maine and Washington have all passed to allow same-sex marriage. In most of these states this was an easy win. In Minnesota, the vote was a vote to ban same-sex marriage. It looks like most likely the ban will not pass, but it is still very close.
This is a huge victory for marriage-equality groups and many people have taken to twitter to show their support. After Politico announce the win in Maryland, many celebrities and marriage equality supporters showed their approval.
Traditional marriage supporters...
THAT is why it's called "marriage equality" -- because the point is to make everyone equal under the law. But that will not happen if it's only possible at the state level. In that case, you're right that the only difference is a semantic one.