Something I never thought about

I've thought a lot about the priviledges of marriage, but I honestly never thought about this. An article published in New York Press by Michelangelo Signorile discussed what Rosie O'Donnell went through with her lawsuit.

Honestly, at the time, I really thought the whole thing was about the ego of a lawfirm up against the ego of Rosie, and I'm still not sure who has the biggest ego.

But, after reading this article, it made me aware that there are so much that we miss out on by not being able to marry. It's astonishing:

"If you are a heterosexual talk show host and you’re sued by a major corporation, anything you have said to your husband is privileged information," she said in an interview on my radio program on Sirius OutQ last week. She was referring to two rights of marriage that few of us ever think about–until we’re sued for $100 million, or brought to court for something far minor. One is the spousal immunity privilege, which, if you watch enough Law & Order or The Practice, you know means that, in general, a husband cannot be compelled to testify against his wife and vice versa. The other is known as the privilege for marital communications, which protects confidential correspondence between spouses. These are just two of hundreds of rights granted by marriage–rights that gay couples don’t have.

"If you are a homosexual talk show host," O’Donnell continued, "and you’re sued by a corporation, anything you have ever said and/or written to your spouse/partner/wife is allowed to be entered into the record. It is totally unfair."

She believes that Gruner & Jahr’s lawyers were well aware of that inequity and exploited it to their advantage.