Rosie O'Donnell Heads to San Fran to Wed

Feb. 26, 2004 -- Blasting President Bush for supporting a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriages, Rosie O'Donnell is taking action and heading to San Francisco to wed her longtime girlfriend, Kelli Carpenter.

On Good Morning America today, O'Donnell announced her planned wedding to Carpenter, 34, a former dancer and marketing director for Nickelodeon.

O'Donnell said she has now decided that a civil union is "not enough," even though she knows the word "marriage" troubles many Americans. "I understand marriage is a word that's inciting people and it's divisive," she said, adding that there are "over 1,000 federal rights that you'll never have in civil unions."

Her announcement came just two days after President Bush announced his support for a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages, amid growing public support for such an amendment. He left the door open for civil unions as an alternative to same-sex marriages, but said that Congress needed to stop judges from changing the definition of the "most enduring human institution."

Bush's statements angered O'Donnell, who said that it would be the only time that the Constitution would be amended in a way that restricts people's rights.

"I think the actions of the president yesterday, which are, you know, in my opinion, the most vile and hateful words ever spoken by a single president in my opinion. I am stunned, and I am horrified," she said.

"We, too, have a dream of equality for all families," the comedienne said in a statement. "The only way changes are made in society is when people like Mayor Gavin Newsom have the courage to stand up against injustice."

No Spousal Privilege

In November, O'Donnell was in court for a breach-of-contract case between herself and Gruner & Jahr USA, the publisher of the defunct Rosie magazine. A judge ruled that neither the publisher, who initially sued, nor O'Donnell, who countersued the publisher, deserved damages. But during the trial, Carpenter was called on to testify.

That is when O'Donnell said she realized the difference between marriage and civil unions. Because they are not a married couple, she and Carpenter were denied spousal privilege, meaning that Carpenter had no legal right to refuse to testify against O'Donnell, even through they have four children, and have been together for six years.

"As a result, everything that I said to Kelly, every letter that I wrote her, every e-mail, every correspondence and conversation was entered into the record of this case," O'Donnell said. "After the trial, I am now, and will forever be, a total proponent of gay marriage."

O'Donnell says she understands that even for those who support equal rights on other issues, "marriage" is a different story, but she says it should not be. People in civil unions do not enjoy the federal rights and protections that married couples do. Even if they were granted those same rights, it still wouldn't be fair, she said.

"If they can make it exactly equal to marriage, well, then you have separate-but-equal problems in the Constitution," O'Donnell said.

Unhappy With First Lady

O'Donnell said that the amendment would be just like banning interracial marriages.

"If when blacks and whites wanted to marry, they said, 'Well, you can get married, but we're not going to call it marriage, we're going to call it you two are a family,' " O'Donnell said. As a "family," the gay couple would not be protected in the event of an emergency in another country, for example.

"You're not protected in so many ways," O'Donnell said.

In addition to being angry at the president, O'Donnell was also stung by remarks from First lady Laura Bush, who said that she found the fact that gays were standing in line to get married in San Francisco "very, very, very, very shocking."

O'Donnell said she feels the same way about the amendment.

"I would like to tell Laura Bush and her husband I find the proposed amendment very, very, very, very shocking and immoral," O'Donnell said.

Meanwhile, O'Donnell said she supports those getting married in San Francisco.

"If civil disobedience is the way to go about change, then I think a lot of people will be going to San Francisco, and I hope that they put more people on the staff to marry as many people that show up. And I hope everyone shows up," O'Donnell said.