How is the US gay marriage lifestyle different from the UK?

In the UK the Civil Partnership grants you all the rights of being married - only exception is that you can't do it in a church.





In the US it gets more complicated since different states have different laws about 'gay marriage'. For instance California doesn't allow gay marriage but does allow 'Domestic Partnerships' which are similar to civil partnerships but, significantly, don't grant any federal level rights to the couples - and there are about 1200 of them including social security rights and federal tax rights.How is the US gay marriage lifestyle different from the UK?
I don't think there is much of a difference except for the fact that gay marriage is only legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts; however I have a feeling that soon civil unions will at least become legal or possibly even one day the actual marriage would be allowed.