ality. Along with the basic civil right to marry, there are other rights that the Defense of Marriage Act denies homosexuals. Rights that married people take for granted, such as the ability to visit a sick or injured spouse in the hospital, are denied to gay and lesbian people. Because of the law, hospitals and other institutions do not have to respect the basic human rights of gay and lesbian couples. Likewise, if one partner in a married couple is seriously ill and incapacitated, the other spouse should be able to make decisions regarding their care and guardianship. This basic right of guardianship is denied to gay and lesbian couples, because, again, their committed relationships are not recognized under the law. If one partner is incapacitated, the other partner is not given the right to make basic health care decisions. If homosexual couples had legal partnerships, there would not be any cases of confusion over guardianship or visitation in places like hospitals. There is also a financial perk to legalizing same-sex marriages in this country. It is predicted that there would be a larg

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