De Rossi's nuptials now in doubt

(AAP) Australian actress Portia de Rossi's marriage to Ellen DeGeneres and the nuptials of 18,000 other gay couples in California are in limbo after a slim majority of the state's residents voted to ban same-sex marriage.

DeGeneres opened up her chequebook to buy $US100,000 (about $A150,000) worth of TV
commercial air time to plead to Californians to not override May's landmark Supreme
Court ruling allowing gay marriage.
She was devastated by the news her effort was fruitless and her marriage of two
months could soon be scrubbed.
Gay weddings were halted across the state soon after it was confirmed 52.5 per cent
of voters, just over 5.38 million, supported the gay marriage ban.
This was compared to the 47.5 per cent, or 4.87 million, calling for the gay
marriage laws to remain.
"This city is no longer marrying people of the same sex," mayor of San Francisco,
Gavin Newsom, said at a news conference.
Californians were asked to vote on the issue, known as Proposition 8, when they went
to the polls on Tuesday to choose the next president of the US.
DeGeneres and Geelong-born de Rossi married in August at their Hollywood Hills home.
DeGeneres used her TV talk show to drum up support to oppose the ban, but her
website has now posted an emotional message pondering how the US "had taken a giant
step towards equality" with the election of Obama as the first African-American
president, but a step back with Proposition 8.
"Watching the returns on election night was an amazing experience," DeGeneres wrote.
"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 toward 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."
Proposition 8 will not immediately veto the 18,000 gay marriages, but parties on
both sides agreed the vote was the first shot in a battle that would be decided in
the courts.
Supporters of the ban were expected to use the courts to overturn the nuptials.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other gay rights supporters filed three
lawsuits on Wednesday with the California Supreme Court asking for Proposition 8 to
be overturned.
The battle for Proposition 8 was ferocious with a combined $US72 million ($A107
million) spent on campaigns and both sides using inflammatory TV ads in the lead-up
to the vote.
Religious groups, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the
Catholic Church, called for the ban and ads supporting their view warned
Californians children would be taught about gay marriage in school if same-sex
couples were allowed to marry in the state.
Gay marriage supporters aired an ad in the final days of the campaign depicting two
Mormon men forcing their way into a lesbian couple's home, sifting through their
underwear drawer looking for their wedding certificate. When it was discovered they
ripped it up.
Same-sex marriage bans were also passed in Arizona and Florida, with 57 per cent and
62 per cent support, respectively.
Voters in Arkansas also approved a measure aimed at gays that bars unmarried couples
from serving as adoptive or foster parents.
Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only US states allowing same-sex marriage.