My only problem was that the place where we stayed didn't have digital cable and so I couldn't watch the LOGO/Human Rights Campaign Foundation presidential forum as it happened. Yes, that's right, there was a presidential forum devoted solely to our issues. It featured six out of the eight Democratic contenders—Chris Dodd and Joe Biden cited scheduling conflicts for their no shows. LOGO, for the uninitiated, is the country's only free gay cable network.

As luck would have it, I do have digital cable at home so I was able to set my trusty DVR to record the event, which took place on Thursday, August 9th. I watched it in its entirety Saturday evening after we returned home.

It was a fascinating exercise. To quote Jon Stewart as he critiqued the forum on The Daily Show, "The Democratic candidates were trying to reassure the gay community how much they support them, while reassuring the rest of the country that they don't completely support them."

Stewart hit the nail on the head. All the candidates—Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Richardson, Kucinich and Gravel—support the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the passage of the hate crimes and the employment non-discrimination acts, more funding for HIV/AIDS. Those are the easy gay issues.

What they are for is civil unions with all the rights and responsibilities that come with marriage. Clinton characterized herself as a "strong supporter of civil unions" rather than an opponent of same-sex marriage. Obama explained that he voted against the drive for a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage and that he's a "strong supporter not of a weak version of civil unions, but a strong version" where all the rights on the federal level are conferred on the couple. John Edwards made it clear that despite his wife, Elizabeth, supporting our nuptials he's still against same sex marriage but stands wholly behind civil unions—again with all the rights and responsibilities.

It was hard to fathom exactly what Bill Richardson was saying. He blew it when asked if being gay was a choice or not—he said yes, it's a choice but has since retracted. When it came to the marriage issue he kept talking about domestic partnerships and civil unions—as if they were interchangeable—and kept patting himself on the back for his record on LGBT issues. As governor of New Mexico, he stopped a Defense of Marriage Act in his state. "I kept it off. We killed it," he said. "So shouldn't that count for something?"

Sure it does Bill, but we're a little more sophisticated that that. We know it's easier to kill a bad bill then get a good one passed. That's why the LGBT people in your state are still waiting for the passage of your domestic partner legislation.

Now I know they're all playing politics and trying to maintain their electability—who can blame them, they're serious about becoming president. And, if truth be told, any of them would be better than what we have now.

While they're not where I'd like them to be on same-sex marriage one thing is now abundantly clear. The debate around civil unions has been elevated to the national stage with a credibility factor it didn't have before. But even more important is that all the major democratic candidates are talking about civil unions with full federal rights and responsibilities.

The bar has now been set. If there's going to be serious political conversations about our lives and our families, the politicians who want our votes can no longer extend half a carrot placating us with just hospital visitation rights or health insurance. Now, when they talk about civil unions they have to talk in terms of full marriage equality.

There's no going back. Talk about changing the debate.

Libby Post is the founding chair of the Empire State Pride Agenda and a political commentator on public radio, on the Web, and in print media. She can be reached at libby(at)proudlyout.com.