Ellen DeGeneres is “saddened beyond belief” at the decision to ban same-sex marriage in California.
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The passing of Proposition 8 leaves the US talk show host’s two-month marriage to Portia de Rossi in limbo after 52.5 per cent of Californians’ voted in favour of the ruling, despite extensive campaigning from stars including Ellen, actor Brad Pitt and director Steven Spielberg.
Ellen expressed her dismay about the vote, which was announced yesterday (06.11.08), on her website.
She wrote: “Barack Obama is our new President. Change is here. I, like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step towards equality.
“This morning, when it was clear that Proposition 8 had passed in California, I can’t explain the feeling I had. I was saddened beyond belief.
“I believe one day a ‘ban on gay marriage’ will sound totally ridiculous. In the meantime, I will continue to speak out for equality for all of us.”
Ellen is not the only star to speak out against the ban. DJ Samantha Ronson, who is in a lesbian relationship with actress Lindsay Lohan, criticised voters for approving an animal-rights initiative, but rejecting measures for gay marriage and adoption.
She wrote on her blog: “I guess people care more about farm animals than they do their fellow man, that’s really sad to me. Yes, I am glad that the chickens will have more room and better conditions as they wait to die, but I just think it’s frightening that people show more compassion for tomorrow’s dinner than for the chef.”
Former Star Trek star George Takei – who married his partner Brad Altman in September – said: “Our fight for marriage equality was going down to defeat. It was astounding to think that the hard won equality that made my recent marriage to Brad Altman would no longer be possible for others. The road ahead is long, the road will be steep.”
Massachusetts and Connecticut are now the only US states which allow same-sex marriage after bans were also passed in Arizona and Florida yesterday.
Voters in Arkansas also approved a measure that bars unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents, which has been seen as targeting the homosexual community.
Proposition 8 will not immediately veto the 18,000 gay marriages that have already taken place but supporters of the ban are expected to use the courts to overturn the nuptials.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other gay rights supporters have filed three lawsuits with the California Supreme Court asking for Proposition 8 to be overturned.
