Comedian Ellen DeGeneres said she was “saddened beyond belief” at the decision by voters to ban the newly-won rights of gays and lesbians to marry in California.
But singer Melissa Etheridge sounds downright angry.
Etheridge, 47, who did not get to marry her partner Tammy Lynn Michaels before the Nov 4 ballot, suggested in a blog post that she would no longer pay her California state taxes because, as a lesbian, she did not now enjoy the same rights as as other Californians.
“Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen,” Etheridge wrote.
DeGeneres and her longtime partner, actress Portia de Rossi, were among the roughly 18,000 gay or lesbian couples who married in California in the five-month honeymoon between same sex marriage becoming legal and then being banned in a ballot initiative known as Proposition 8.
The popular chat show host married de Rossi in August in the most high-profile same sex marriage since such unions were declared legal in California in May.
“I was saddened beyond belief. Here we just had a giant step toward equality and then on the very next day, we took a giant step away,” DeGeneres wrote on her website
“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,” she added.
California authorities say marriages of gays and lesbians between June and November will remain legal. Hundreds of gay rights activists held street protests in Los Angeles and San Francisco after the Prop 8 vote and have filed several lawsuits in a bid to overturn the decision.
Trackback
104 comments so far
Previous | 6 … | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Next
Angie,
You are kidding me right? Gay Marraige WAS LEGAL and no churches were forced to perform any marraiges they didn’t wish to. I can’t believe you voted YES on 8 as a gay person. That’s really insulting to you as a person that you didn’t even know the details of the issue and you helped write descrimination against yourself.
- Posted by ChadCivil Union are not the same. They don’t cross state lines ie: A civil union from California isn’t valid in an other state; while business have offer benifits to a CU if the do for a marriage but they don’t have to be the same and are taxable; CU’s do not allow a partner to pick the others child or act in any custodial fashion without further adoption proceedings. If one partner owns property out of state the other does not have inheritance rights to that property - there are more
- Posted by Still MarriedWait a minute. Where is it written in Prop 8 that anyone would sue a church if they wouldn’t marry a gay/lesbian couple?? No church is ever forced to marry anyone. The proposition was one banning legal contract rights, which is all a marriage really is in the eyes of the government. The proposition had nothing to do with churches but with rights at the government level. Way to vote your rights away because of scare tactics from the churches involved.
- Posted by Rachel KenneyTo Angie; I am especially surprised by your statement. Who told you that KEEPING same sex marriage legal means that gays can sue churches. Churches always had and continue to have the right to regulate their own affairs, so I am sorry to say that you are informed. To the other people who say that “you have civil unions, .. you have the same rights. just don’t call it marriage” can you hear or read what you are saying if I can’t call it marriage then it is not equal now is it? As for a definition of what marriage this, Definitions by their own nature are fluid and evolving, the “definition” or marriage 40 years ago was a man of one race to a woman of the same race, and that thankfully is over, the definition has changed and I guarantee you it will change again. You need to open your harts and minds, move away from the hatred and discrimination that is entrenched in your soul, because whether you like it or not, change is coming, and even this country is progressing socially, it may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but it is coming and it is real soon now.
- Posted by AnonMatthew, please don’t speak on behalf of all Canadians. The majority of us are not in favour of gay marriage either. I knew this day would come. The gay lobby is strong. They have advanced their cause. However, they went too far. I knew one day they would, and at that point, the majority would finally fight back and say enough is enough. It’s one thing for gay couples to have equal rights. It’s another thing entirely to force schools to teach kids about the gay lifestyle, and present it as just another option. You went too far, it backfired, now you have to live with the consequences.
- Posted by Scott NeblemanI sit here scratching my head when I hear that gay people are losing there rights and comparing this to the civil rights movement, give me a break. This does not even come close to that. This is a definition of what marriage is, between a man and women. This does not restrict your rights as a people, a couple when you form a civil union, your right to live and be free. IT’S A DEFINITION so stop saying you losing your rights, you not!!! You just can’t have the definition of marriage, which has been the same for thousands of years.
- Posted by SoCalKidI agree with Joshua, and thank you Angie for stating your comment too. I think your comments were right on.
- Posted by seabeDomestic partnerships DO NOT provide gay couples with the same rights offered to straight couples. Insurance benefits are decided by individual businesses, leaving it up to the company to decide if they will provide domestic partners with insurance. Straight married couples don’t have to deal with this problem.
When gay couples are filling out a legal form, they are forced to check the “single” box. Many couples have been together for decades but are forced to file state and federal taxes as single, when they are far from it. There is no civil union box.
If a gay individual dies, it is not clear who their belongings go to. That would have to be worked out with a lawyer beforehand. Ownership of homes, cars and other posessions would need to be worked out with a lawyer…An issue straight people don’t have to deal with.
Children born into gay families aren’t protected under civil unions.
Last name changes………..
The list can go on. The point being that SEPARATE IS NOT EQUAL…..EVER!
- Posted by Natalie Lynn ThompsonI am a Christian and I am in a committed relationship with the love of my life. I am blessed.
But right now, my heart is broken by those who are willing to protect the “sanctity” of a word over the basic human rights of their neighbors.
If you can’t bring yourself past your narrow-minded indoctrination, at least recognize that you have given your government the power to take away marriage rights. What stops them from taking away yours?
How are you protecting marriage by hurting other people. Christ taught love and compassion not persecution.
God gave his Son to pay the debt I cannot pay on my own. I am flawed and broken. We all are. I accepted his grace because I know that I am not enough. Where is the humility in telling someone their there love is not valid?
Is this really how Christ’s church should behave?
- Posted by MonroeAs a gay American and Californian born and raised - anyone out there who says domestic partnership is the same has not bothered to do the research. Take 10 mins and look it up on the CA government websites - SEPARATE IS NOT EQUAL!!! For starters, domestic partnership costs carries an extra $23 fee for same-sex couples only. Minor but just a starter. Employers are not required to honor tax benefits and other benefits under domestic partnership - unlike marriage. Regardless of the religious aspect or marriage - the government should not be allowed to treat any citzen different from another under the law. And regarding sueing churches - give me a break - you should be ashamed not only as a gay person but just as a human being for denying others equal rights even if you don’t wish to utilize them. And I agree - not unequal under the law? then why should we have to pay the same taxes.
- Posted by EdI would suggest for all those who think that since so many anti-same-sex marriage people think that “a civil ceremony is just as good” as being married in the traditional sense that we ban marriage. You can all “be the same as married”.
It is not the same. It was not so long ago that interracial couples were denied the right to marry under the law. This is no different from banning same-sex marriage on the basis that ti doesn’t meet your narrow-minded view of “marriage”.
It might also be pointed out to the person who is a “gay american” (Oddly, I thought it was American, but I guess I am wrong) that “permitting” same sex marriage does not have any impact on the church and no one can sue a church for refusing to marry them. It is a Constitutional right for churches to decide who they will and will not marry, while the State states who is legally permitted to marry.
When did you hear of a couple suing the Catholic Church or a synagogue for refusing to marry them because they didn’t meet with the faith’s criteria for eligibility under their rules… Never, that’s when.
- Posted by AngelaThis is just sad, why do people care, just let everyone live how they want to live! Isn\’t it America and not a third world country?? Because to me the United States falls at par with countries where no one has any rights. Im saying this as a gay Canadian and America obviously still needs to grow up! I thought this was 2008 but you guys are ignorant down there and your country could be so much better you fools!
- Posted by Matthew Thompsongay californians can still register for domestic partnerships which grant them the same rights bestowed on them by the state as marriage would give them. People in Cali want gay couples to have the same rights but want to keep the actual wording of marriage to continue to mean, the union of one man and one woman. The definition has never been anything else in California, the biology and number has always been the same. Just as women did not need to call themselves men to gain the rights that men had, gay relationships do not need to be called marriage to gain the same rights. Calling one’s relationship a marriage does no appear as a right in any human rights document on earth. Gays still have the same rights.
- Posted by joshuaAre we now a theocracy? Are we going to live by biblical laws and religious dictate? How can the need for the separation of church and state be clearer? Where is our right to freedom FROM religion?
- Posted by Jean-Jeannie CAI’m sorry for your disappointment, it is sad that gay people have tried to assert their rights to marital equality and failed. I do not view this as a rejection of your lifestyle and desire for a blessed union. Rather, the vote comes as an affirmation of an historic and traditional sacrament that joins a man and a woman together in a special way. Thankfully, the state has seen fit to provide single-sex couples a route to protection and equality under law; and my particular branch of the Christian church, the Episcopal church, provides for a blessing of this civic union. Please do not hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity for a blessed union; just don’t call it “marriage.” Thanks.
- Posted by Rocket448Although I KNOW that my civil right to legally marry will soon (and again) be a reality according to the historical pattern of civil rights movements in this country, I FEEL like I’ve been ‘gay bashed’ in a hate crime committd by 52% of the voters of California.
- Posted by CAPsychotherapist5I think it is stupid to ban gay marriage. They have been fighting for their rights just to be put down time and time again.
- Posted by calvinI believe a “ban on gay marriage” does sound totally ridiculous today. It is as ridiculous as slavery. It is as ridiculous as not allowing rock and roll.
Additionally, it is totally ridiculous for a state to adopt a law that unmarried couples cannot adopt children. Why would a gay couple have to pay school taxes for “straight” families to send their kids to school when gay couples do not have equal rights?
There is something wrong with this society!
- Posted by John WeeksI just wanted to say that I am a gay american who voted yes on prop 8. I just dont believe it is right for anyone to sue a church of any denomination juat because they choose to not marry a gay or lesbian couple. If California Chooses to re write the prop and just allow for gay marriage without it affecting the seperation of church and state then I will be all for it.
- Posted by AngieI’m gay
- Posted by jose luisI do not want to be SECOND CLASS CITIZEN
where is the freedom and equality