Conservatives Broadening the Meaning of Equality?

Wonderful news has broken the long silence cast between the White House and the LGBTQ community last week when President Obama released a memorandum that would grant hospital visitation rights to gay and lesbian partners. Also, under Obama's memorandum, gay and lesbians can make medical decisions for the partners. Obama also stated that hospitals that accept medicare and medicaid cannot deny medical services based on religion, race, nationality, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Such a wonderful surprise! Unlike the health care debate there does not seem to be any forewarning to Obama's statements last week. Forewarn is to forearm which might explain the lack of resistance that would be expected from the conservative party. The New York Times said "But [conservatives] did not say Mr. Obama’s argument — that gay men and lesbians deserve the same rights as others to have partners visit them in hospitals or make medical decisions that were previously agreed — was wrong on the merits." To reiterate the important part "But [conservatives] did not say Mr. Obama's argument...was wrong on the merits".
Really?! Another shocker because aren't these rights some of the same ones granted through something people have been calling "gay marriage"? To me at least, gay marriage can be boiled down to rights. Rights granted and respected by both federal and state governments. The right to sit at the bedside of a loved one who is dying in a hospital, to inherit ownership of property as a widow/er would. As the New York Times reported, it seems that conservatives don't have much of a problem with equality, a.k.a. equal rights. So I can't help but think that they still hold an archaic vision of what it means to be gay. Western American society is hypersexualized and women and the LGBTQ community are the groups that carry the brunt. Conservatives think of sex when they think of gay marriage. News Flash: We don't need to get married to have sex. Heterosexual couples do not need a marriage license to have sex, that is not the purpose of marriage. It's a legal action. To prove this point, think about divorce. In order to absolve a marriage you need lawyers, a judge, and signatures on legal documents. This is an attempt to be fair in separating property that was once jointly owned by the couple through marriage.
So conservatives: What's the problem? Why are you okay with hospital visitation rights, but not other rights given through marriage? I wish that you all might delve a little deeper on the meanings of equality, because you obviously have some sense of it for agreeing with Obama's "merits". Hopefully sooner, rather than later.