My point is
if marriage is a benefit to straight couples, those same reasons would apply to gay couples.
For me, the only real benefit aside from financial is that the children see their parents as fully committed and not some fly by night relationship that has a chance of ending any moment. Basically, something to help the children know their parents are there to stay. That safety could certainly make for a happier one and a more stable child.
But really the nice thing is, it's over (or ending) and justice and fairness won.
If you want something different, either work to change the name "marriage" from what the government does, or have religious institutions choose alternate terms.
And you say it's been around for thousands of years. In Aramaic, marriage is Ogwwz (pronounced zuooag,aa). That's been around for even longer. Why not choose that word, or a Hebrew one, or a Latin one, you know, something the bible might have been in thousands of years ago.
http://www.atour.com/cgi-bin/dictio...ge&B1=Search&Search_Field=Meaning&VTI-GROUP=0