DeGeneres and de Rossi Wedding Transcends Controversy

On Saturday, August 16, 2008, America’s favorite television personality, Ellen DeGeneres married her long-time partner, actress Portia de Rossi, in an intimate ceremony at their Los Angeles home. Their wedding, the most celebrated same-sex union in California since the landmark state Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed gay and lesbian couples the same fundamental “right to marry” as other citizens, was attended by nineteen guests, including the couple’s mothers and several Hollywood celebrities.

Eleven years after proclaiming her sexual orientation to the world, DeGeneres and her new spouse are gracing an upcoming People Magazine cover detailing their highly anticipated ceremony. "What can I say? I'm the luckiest girl in the world," says DeGeneres. "She's officially off the market. No one else gets her. And now she'll cook and clean for me."

The plans for their dream wedding, after announcing their intentions once the gay marriage ban was overturned, were “very stressful” and “crazy” and initially included a Presidential Family venue offer as well as a customized celebrity wedding song proposal.

According to The Wedding Report, Inc., upwards of 50,000 previously banned couples are beginning to generate over $1.5 billion for the California wedding industry. Because of the influx of business, state and wedding industry businesses have been gearing up with training and services designed especially for the emerging new market.

Four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow legal same-sex marriage; California has followed the same pattern of large numbers of gay and lesbian couples tying the knot in the first year. Although California does not have a residency requirement for marriage, same-sex couples marrying in the Golden State and returning to their resident states are not guaranteed their unions, and subsequent rights, will be upheld.

Currently, a large, but declining, majority of states have adopted the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) language defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. While many states have also voted for constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriages, gay and lesbian rights advocates point to the California and Massachusetts rulings, favorable polling and similar legislation in other states, and the proclamation by Governor David Patterson that New York State will recognize legal same-sex marriages from other states and countries as a reason for optimism and renewed civil rights activism.

Among the first same-sex couples to announce wedding plans, Emmy-winning talk show host and comedian DeGeneres and former “Ally McBeal” star de Rossi set the tone for open discussion and planning of a high-profile celebrity lesbian dream wedding. Some opponents of same-sex marriage have even decried the lack of controversy in mainstream media reporting of the high profile nuptials.

On November 4, 2008, one of the potential roadblocks predicted for California’s gay marriage ruling will be decided by voters in the form of Proposition 8. Originally summarized by state Attorney General Jerry Brown as “Amends the California Constitution to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized” in the state, the wording has since been changed to “Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry.” In a closely contested battle between both sides of the same-sex marriage issue, many believe the change in language will tip the balance toward defeat for the amendment.

If passed, Proposition 8 would add a single line to the state Constitution between the Equal Protection clause and nondiscrimination in business and the professions section that reads, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” This would overturn the high court’s ruling and again ban gay and lesbian marriages in the state.

As the election nears, opponents and proponents of gay marriage have raised millions of dollars to support or defeat Proposition 8. Even this year’s Presidential candidates have weighed in on the subject. Joan Hollinger, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, believes that should the initiative proposed by ProtectMarriage.com pass, “Constitutional scholars agree that the amendment cannot be effective retroactively, so anyone married before November would be protected."

That may be good news for DeGeneres and de Rossi, as well as the thousands of other same-sex couples who have exercised their Constitutional right to marriage since June. Civil rights groups such as Equality California are working to ensure the hopes and dreams of millions of other citizens continue to be protected.