The same-sex marriage debate has been at a boiling point since California voters approved Proposition 8, which banned such couples from being wed in the state , by a slim margin in November. Protest and counter-protest marches have filled streets across the state and the state Supreme Court took up the volatile issue last week.

Out of the furor comes an idea of wicked promo that attempts to sidestep the debate over marriage. Attorney General Jerry Brown this week approved a ballot initiative for circulation that would eliminate the term "marriage" from state statutes and replace it with "domestic partnerships."

According to the summary of the measure Testking 642-446, "'marriage' itself would become a social ceremony, recognized by only non-governmental institutions."

Such a system even came up at Thursday's supreme court hearing as a potential solution to the certification key debate.

The measure, which will need 694,354 signatures by Aug. 6 to qualify for the Nov. 2010 ballot, is the brainchild of two straight college students from Southern California.

"I'm not religious and I'm not gay, but I am concerned about equal rights," said Ali Shams, a 22-year-old political science major at UC San Diego, who is pushing the measure of come fly away tickets with his friend Kaelan Housewright, a student at CalArts in Valencia.