Ellen DeGeneres is just so generous! The lesbian funny lady used her talk show yesterday to run some behind-the-scenes footage of her wedding to Portia de Rossi.

It's possibly the cutest thing we've ever seen and these girls are by far our favorite gay couple in history.

Watch Ms. D's monologue on the matter, after the jump…

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We all know that marriage remains one of the world's most divisive political issues. Christian and conservative activists are always griping that the "blessed union" should be between a man and a woman. Because, you know, God wanted it that way so we could have babies and the such. Author Susan Squire's new book, I Don't: A Contrarian History Of Marriage, undercuts such right-wing arguments.

Squire, who happens to be our friend, argues that marriage isn't based on God's word at all. In fact, many societies only used marriage for its practical purpose: maintaining a straight lineage. The Israelites, like Sarah and Abraham, whom we've pictured above, had strict laws in order to ensure a valid lineage. Sex wasn't the problem. It was infidelity.

Early Christian leaders, like lust-phobic Augustine, introduced the "marriage bed" not because they feared bastard children or God's wrath, but for fear of lust. Nuptials were a practicality and it wouldn't be until Martin Luther and his Reformation that emotions would be injected into the marital mix.

Our editor picks Squire's brain, after the jump…

[Image by Lars Justinen]

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With same-sex marriage in full effect out in California, the state's prison officials are busy trying to set things straight for gay inmates:

No prisoners so far have sought to arrange weddings with same-sex partners since the state Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to wed as of mid-June, according to Michele Kane, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Nonetheless, department lawyers are drafting guidelines to bring the state's 33 adult prisons into compliance with the court's ruling that same-sex couples must be treated the same as opposite-sex couples under the California Constitution, Kane said.

What they have determined so far is that would mean allowing gay inmates to marry someone on the outside, but not a fellow prisoner — the same rules that apply to straight inmates, according to Kane.

One thing this would change, however, is who performs the marriages. Prison chaplains traditionally help couples tie the knot, but the Department's legal team may recommend chaplains leave that business to someone else. That way no one's forced to perform a marriage of which they disapprove and the prison can't get sued. Everybody wins!

Gay Congressman Barney Frank in Washington will no doubt garner some gay ire in coming weeks.

Frank, Human Rights Campaign and others have been busy hashing out the ever-contentious Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the latest controversy has nothing to do with trans inclusion, which has derailed discussions in the past. No, this latest brouhaha revolves around another hot-button topic: marriage.

A little-discussed provision of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would allow employers to give health insurance coverage and other benefits to married opposite-sex couples and deny those same benefits to the partners of their gay and lesbian employees who are legally married in Massachusetts and California.
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A similar provision has been in the bill since 1994, when ENDA was first introduced on Capitol Hill, but the earlier language said employers did not have to provide benefits to the domestic partners of their employees.

ENDA, which bans job discrimination based on sexual orientation, now says an employer cannot be required "to treat a couple who are not married in the same manner as the covered entity treats a married couple for purposes of employee benefits."

Before people start burning effigies, however, Frank's quick to point out that he personally did not add the language. It is, however, necessary, he says: "It was the decision of the committee and of everybody else, myself, Tammy, was that we couldn't pass anything without this…We had to make it clear that non-discrimination in employment had no effect on marriage one way or another."

Now that they've tied the knot, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have finally made it - to the cover of People. The tabloid will release some exclusive shots from the lady's wedding this Friday.

Get excited!

The time has come! Ellen DeGeneres and lady love Portia de Rossi will reportedly tie the knot this weekend:

[The women] will wed this weekend in California, Usmagazine.com has learned exclusively.

The pair are planning a small, intimate ceremony with only a few close friends and family.
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Of the preparations, DeGeneres joked, "Planning a wedding is very stressful. It's crazy. My gardener is now invited."

DeGeneres and de Rossi began dating in December 2004.

"I feel like I found my perfect fit," DeGeneres said of de Rossi in an interview with the Advocate.

Not to mention a fine female specimen. That Portia be hot!

From the Editor: The woman you see at the right goes by the name Janet Webb, but I call her "Gram," a somewhat lazy pronunciation of "Grandma."

This Janet's a pretty radical lady and has been roaming this planet, wreaking havoc, for almost eighty-five years. Considering all she's seen in her time, I decided to ring her up for a spur of the moment interview.

After the jump, read Janet's thoughts on the gays, meeting my late grandfather, getting older, my younger self and what she thinks of anti-gay marriage activists. Her response may not be safe for work. That's my granny!

Meanwhile, hats off to my mother, Marsha, who took this lovely picture with her camera phone. Mom, you're so 21st century! Xoxo.

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Marriage has again become a hot political topic!

House Republican Paul Broun of Georgia introduced a "marriage protection" measure last month and yesterday Republican Senator Roger Wicker introduced similar legislation. It reads:

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.

Larry Craig and David Vitter are key cosponsors of the act. Craig, of course, got busted cruising men in an airport bathroom, while Vitter carried on with whores. And these are the people "protecting" marriage? DC sure is a crazy place!

Some social conservatives simply can't quit the culture war.

Catholic-aligned non-profit the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property placed an ad in national newspapers today to announce they're warriors in the "battle for America's soul."

Said TFP director Preston Noell:

Mainstream America is understandably upset about same-sex 'marriage.' It is a grave offense against God and undermines 2,000 years of Christian morality. Same-sex 'marriage' threatens the social stability of our nation and future.
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There's a battle going on for America's soul. At the root of this conflict lies a profound divergence of worldviews. The Christian worldview is anchored in reality, whereas secularism does not respect reality's constraints.

That's a joke, right?