WAPO: Ask a Gay Couple

Same-sex marriage leapt into the Washington Post advice column Tell Me About It®,, by Carolyn Hax.

In yesterday's Q&A, a straight woman had lived with her beau for four and one-half years. She wants to marry and he says they are the same as married. She asked what is the purpose of marriage.

"Ask a gay friend," Hax writes. She lists some of the financial, inheritance, and power of attorney differences. She tells the woman to challenge her beau. "Something else a gay friend can tell you: The sole fact of being denied something can make it significant. He's essentially telling you that his rationale carries more weight than your feelings. Ow."

It was solid advice, but the cultural significance is a tiny indicator of how same-sex marriage and civil unions are creeping into life.