Miss Manners on Addressing Gay Couples

Miss Manners is the expert on all facets of etiquette, and in her latest column she says that "updating old customs for new times happens to be her favorite part of this job."

She follows up by answering a reader's question on how to address mail to a same-sex couple. The reader wonders if she should use the same formalities as when addressing an opposite-sex couple, then asks a question out of concern for the couple in question.

The letter reads: "Should I worry that someone would notice how the mail is addressed and be concerned that I could be bringing about difficult times for the couple, since in our society there are folks who would persecute others when they disagree with those who have married a member of the same sex?"

Miss Manners responds: "Miss Manners begs you not to concern yourself with the unlikely possibility that postal clerks have any interest in the marital arrangements of the public they serve. She reminds you that marriage is a matter of public record, and that to presume that others' marriages are better kept secret is insulting."

Click here for the rest of Miss Manners' advice.