At this point, if they’re going to go down this road of recognizing same sex marriages and long-term cohabitation (as you suggest) they should at least apply some of the more onorous consequences of marriage to them as well. Like the marriage penalty.
I actually wonder if non imposition of the marriage penalty, etc, for same sex marriages recognized as legit by the DoL would be grounds for a challenge under the equal protections clause of the 14th Amendment ...
It is even more twisted than this reads. I got the notice for my company yesterday. It actually spells out that I have to accommodate gay married couples, regardless of whether my state recognizes the marriage, and specifically tells me not to recognize other forms of relationship such as a civil union or long term co-habitation, which may be recognized by the state. So it is a direct encouragement for a gay couples to become married, even if they aren’t on the militant edge that is pushing for that. It is purely a drive to get the marriage numbers up so the “institution” of gay marriage is mainstreamed. The lengths to which these fascists will go to push their agenda is unbounded.