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Ellen Sounds Off on Sarah Palin, Prop. 8

Wed., Oct. 22, 2008 2:10 PM PDT by Marc Malkin

Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Ellen DeGeneres is addressing the issue of same-sex marriage on her show today—specifically California’s Proposition 8, a measure that would eliminate marriage for same-sex couples. And, as expected, she is not pleased with Sarah Palin's views on the issue.

"Vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin says she’s in favor of a federal ban on gay marriage. [She] basically wants to change the constitution," DeGeneres says. "So if you’re wondering—I’m sure you are—how I feel about this, I don’t like it. I don’t agree."

The comedian, who recently married longtime girlfriend Portia de Rossi, explains, "Maybe it’s because I’m gay that I think we should all be equal, but I feel that we’re all equal."

"I don’t know what people are scared of. Maybe they think that their children will be influenced. I gotta say I was raised by two heterosexuals," DeGeneres says.

And in her usual fashion, DeGeneres takes a funny spin on a serious issue. "I was surrounded by heterosexuals—just everywhere I looked, heterosexuals—and they did not influence...I mean I dabbled in high school, who didn’t? Everyone dabbled, ya know?"

In the end, she says, "people are gonna be who they’re gonna be, and we need to learn to love them for who they are and let them love who they want to love."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves!

—Written by Dahvi Shira. Marc is in Europe running the marathon in Amsterdam.