Um, yes it actually is. For purposes of Californian law, they are effectively equated to married couples. All that's missing is the name, which, granted, is very important, but considering they didn't have anything only 10 years ago, I'd say that's still a pretty amazing development. California also has very extensive protection against sexual orientation discrimination, which includes gender discrimination, also very progressive. So yeah, I still think California is a bright spot on the U.S. (and world) human rights map...there's lots for you to be proud of...