What Marriage Means to Ellen DeGeneres

When gay marriage is put on a ballot, it's often hard to capture how very personal the issue is for thousands of gay and lesbian couples who make the commitment to be with each other, til death do themselves part. Today, perhaps the most famous lesbian in the entire world talked about what marriage meant for her and her partner.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi appeared on Oprah, and they were asked about their relationship. Ellen nailed it out of the park when she described what marriage meant to their relationship. Simply put, this is why this battle is worth fighting for, even if it's painful.

"Anybody who's married knows there is a difference," said DeGeneres. ""It feels like you're home. There's an anchor, there's a safety. I'm going to be with [Portia] until the day I die and I know that."

DeGeneres and De Rossi happen to be one of the approximately 18,000 same-sex couples who were able to get married in California before the passage of Proposition 8 last year. They're lucky. Thousands of other couples looking for that same safety and feeling of home don't have access to it, and won't until Prop 8 can be overturned at the ballot box.

Check out the clip after the jump of DeGeneres and De Rossi. Maybe their words are a good omen that New York will be passing marriage equality this week? Perhaps if a few NY State Senators watch this clip...

(Photo courtesy of http://www.ellen-forum.de)