Thread's not gonna die until it gets locked or a response lol.
Calling it something different DOES change things. If it's not called marriage and it's not explicitly romantic in nature then most wouldn't have reason to dislike it. Also if they don't make it an issue for themselves again, most won't notice.
As I've said before, Valentione's Day was more "controversial" than the above suggestion. It was explicitly romantic and same sex couples were not restricted. I didn't see a slew of "I QUIT!" threads on here because of it. I don't recall even seeing a single complaint over it. Most were overjoyed that SE had decided to not restrict it.
