Ellen DeGeneres Sends Humorous Pro-Gay Marriage Brief to Supreme Court
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who is married to actress Portia de Rossi, has revealed that she wrote an unofficial brief to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage.
"Portia and I have been married for 4 years and they have been the happiest of my life. And in those 4 years, I don't think we hurt anyone else's marriage. I asked all of my neighbors and they say they're fine," DeGeneres says in the statement, tackling the controversial topic of gay marriage with her signature comedic undertone.
"But even though Portia and I got married in the short period of time when it was legal in California, there are 1,138 federal rights for married couples that we don't have, including some that protect married people from losing their homes, or their savings or custody of their children," DeGeneres added.
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The comedian has often talked about her happy marriage with de Rossi on her daytime talk show.
"The truth is, Portia and I aren't as different from you as you might think. We're just trying to find happiness in the bodies and minds we were given, like everyone else."
DeGeneres joins President Barack Obama, and several of the biggest companies in America, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, in filing briefs to the Supreme Court in support of gay marriage.
Many conservative groups such as Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, meanwhile, have urged the high court to uphold traditional marriage
The Supreme Court justices will take up two separate cases on March 26 and March 27 that will examine Proposition 8, the California law that banned gay marriage in 2008, as well as the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed by former President Bill Clinton and defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Traditional marriage can be reinstated on a federal level if DOMA is upheld as a result of this review; states can be granted the right to continue making their own laws regarding marriage; or they can even be banned from making same-sex marriage illegal on a state level.
"I hope the Supreme Court will do the right thing, and let everyone enjoy the same rights. It's going to help keep families together. It's going to make kids feel better about who they are. And it is time," DeGeneres added in the more serious portion of her statement.
In February, Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, delivered a sermon focusing specifically on DeGeneres and how Jesus Christ would respond to her, should they sit down for a talk.
"I think that Jesus would applaud her comedy, he would applaud her life-being, he would encourage her to keep it on the up and up, constructing others," the pastor remarked in his sermon, which was the last chapter in his 5-part "What Would Jesus Say to…" series.
Pastor Young insisted, however, that the talk show host's gay marriage does not align with God's purposes for the world.
"Ellen, you are awesome, but live under My authority – live by My word," Christ would say, offered Young.
"Even Ellen if it is your preference, it is not God's purpose. Jesus accepts Ellen, but that doesn't mean that we applaud the lifestyle."
