Statement from Ellen DeGeneres
Host, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show“

Watching the returns on election night was an amazing experience. Barack Obama is our new president. Change is here.  I, like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step towards equality.  We were watching history.

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.  Here we just had a giant step towards equality and then on the very next day, we took a giant step away.

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.

Matt Coles
ACLU Director of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project

After the California Supreme Court’s brilliant, inspiring decision in May, Tuesday’s loss at the polls is a bitter pill. That it follows all the wonderful stories of people getting married, and the Connecticut decision that seemed to put us on a roll, makes it all the more difficult to accept.

But indulge me for a look back in history. In 1982, we passed a domestic partnership law in San Francisco, the country’s first. Despite having carefully laid the groundwork, it was vetoed without warning, and a vote essential to an override defected the next day. It took us seven years to get it passed again. And when we did, our opponents got enough signatures to put it on the ballot in 30 days. We ran one of the most expensive local initiative elections in California history. And we lost, 50.5 to 49.5. In 1990, we put it back on the ballot again and won. But the next year, we had to defend it again against an attempted repeal initiative.

Keep reading

Program Note: Sarah Palin’s former pastor describes how he expects her religious beliefs to influence her decision-making… Watch Rani Kaye’s exclusive report 360° tonight 10 ET.

Randi Kaye | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Since joining the Republican ticket, Sarah Palin hasn’t said a peep about her religion so we decided to look into her beliefs for a piece on AC360 tonight.

She calls herself a Christian, but identified herself more specifically as a Pentecostal for most of her life. She had been a member of the Wasilla Assembly of God church from the time she was a young girl until 2002, when she left the church to join a non-denominational church that is more mainstream.

The McCain campaign has said Palin doesn’t consider herself a Pentecostal.

Some Pentecostals speak in tongues, and believe in “faith healing” and “end times”, a violent upheaval that will bring the second coming of Jesus and only believers will be saved.

We’ll have an interview with Palin’s pastor from the Assembly of God and let you know if Palin ever spoke in tongues.

Keep reading

You can read the entire California Supreme Court ruling here

Augie Martin
CNN Supervising Producer

The ruling by the California Supreme Court this morning was one of the most hotly anticipated rulings in recent memory. This ruling essentially brought to a close the debate over the legality of same-sex marriages in California. The battle all began in 2004 when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom surprised everyone by issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples in 2004. In the see-saw legal battles that followed, the issue seemed to polarize many, and it seemed no one was void of a view on the matter.

The crux of the issue is whether or not the State of California has the authority to legalize same sex marriage. The ruling today, following oral arguments in March 2008 in front of what is generally considered a conservative Supreme Court of California, was at first not quite as straight forward as the issue itself. The ruling began by stating essentially that the same-sex marriages conducted by the City and County of San Francisco were unlawful, but then went on to overturn the ban on same sex marriage in California. Essentially, past same-sex marriages we’re deemed unlawful, but could proceed going forward.

Keep reading