CELEBS REACT TO PROP 8 RULING

Celebrities angered by the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Proposition 8 have spoken out on the issue. The decision continues the ban on same-sex marriage in the state, while 18,000 same-sex couples who were allowed to marry before the ban will remain legally recognised.

Gay pop legend Sir Elton John told etalk, “That’s just awful. I mean when you see places like Iowa saying yes and there’s now five states [in favour] in America… and California is supposed to be a progressive state it just defies logic to me and I’m very disappointed with that.”

Our very own Charlize Theron, a long-time supporter of same-sex marriage, told E! Online: “I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling on Prop 8 today. I don’t agree with homophobia or discrimination of any kind. I will continue to fight this fight for equality and speak up for the basic civil rights of all Americans.”

Reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian wrote on her website that she was disappointed with the Court’s decision. “This really makes me sad. I thought we were more forward thinking than this, and I’m disappointed in the Supreme Court for being so closed minded.

“Everyone… gay, straight, bisexual, transgendered, EVERYONE should have equal rights to marry who they want to. I have many gay friends and all I want is for them to be happy, yet this is just another obstacle in their way. Now they must continue fighting to be granted a basic civil right that many people take for granted. Shame on you, California! We must all continue to fight the h8!”

“They decided to be indecisive,” the openly gay original Star Trek actor George Takei, who married his partner Brad Altman before the ban, told TVGuide.com.

“It was a ruling that doesn’t resolve anything because there is still inequality. It’s like [George Orwell’s Animal Farm] – some pigs are more equal than other pigs. We’re more equal than some of the other gays and lesbians.”

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi’s marriage also remains legal, but the talk show host was not impressed with the ruling: “One day when everyone is treated with full equality, we’ll look back and realise how wrong this was,” DeGeneres wrote on Twitter.

“So, will anyone be sleeping better tonight?” Singer and activist Melissa Ethridge said in a formal statement. “Those full of hate and fear will surely be disappointed that 18,000 same sex couples will be living in wedded bliss, kissing their spouses goodnight, checking off those little ‘married’ boxes on all those forms we fill out nowadays. That’s really going to drive them crazy.

“Then there are those of us like me who still dangle in ‘domestic partnership’. We can adopt our own children, but we can’t bring our partners who might be citizens from out of the country, here. We can’t file joint tax returns. I could go on. Who will be happy tonight? How do I explain this to my children? Well, you know Ellen? She is married but Mommy and I are not. That is liberty and justice for all? I am hopeful as I see more and more states turn to the inevitable future of equality, California will get there. Change takes time.”