Separate and NOT equal.

So if you have been reading the news you probably heard that the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that same sex couples must be given the same rights as straight couples. Now the debate is about if that means marriage of a civil union. But I have one question, doesn't the idea of a civil union seem exactly like separate but equal? And didn't we already prove that separate but equal is NEVER equal. So there is only one choice and that is marriage.