Summary: In this 7 August 2013 episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, philosopher Dr. Diana Brickell interviewed Tom Varik about "Gay Marriage and Spousal Privilege." Topics discussed include: * The nature of spousal privilege * Testimonial privilege * Communication privilege * A few examples * The history of spousal privilege: Funk v. US (290 U.S. 371) (1933), Hawkins v. US (358 U.S. 74) (1958), Wyatt v. US (362 U.S. 525) (1960), Wolfe v. US (291 U.S. 7) (1934), and Trammel v. US (445 U.S. 40) (1980) * The proper rule and proper justification for spousal privilege * A parent-child privilege? * The relevance of spousal privilege to gay marriage * Elements of marriage for which people cannot contract * The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) * The recent Supreme Court Case: Windsor * The effects of the patchwork of state laws on gay marriage * The Full Faith and Credit Clause * The Proposition 8 Supreme Court Case * The cultural acceptance of gays For more from Dr. Diana Brickell on the application rational principles to the challenges of real life, visit Philosophy in Action: http://www.PhilosophyInAction.com
