After May 1, gay and lesbian couples in Sweden will have the option to legally marry. The move by a parliamentary vote of 261 in favor and 22 opposed eliminates the legal distinction between gay/lesbian and straight couples.

What benefit does this this name change have over previous civil unions? As Paul Schindler of Gay City News so eloquently says, “Marriage is the only currency people understand.” Rightly so. Any civil union couple that’s spent more time explaining the legality of their relationship than getting the services they actually need can attest to the discrepancies in benefits, rights and the general way their relationship is treated in and out of legislative meeting rooms.

When most people think of same-sex marriage, the picture of two tux-clad men cutting a cake is the immediate image. However, the issues of rights is far more complicated and frankly far less popcorn. By changing the definition of marriage in Sweden, the parliament essentially eliminated the distinction between gay and straight couples, which is especially important when businesses, hospitals, and municipalities draft policies for their partnered employees, clients and constituents. Now, it won’t matter if a person is married to Dick, Jane or Hakim, they get the same benefits and breaks.

Civil partnerships and same-sex adoption have been legal in Sweden since 1995 and 2002, respectively.