Stars battle proposition to bar same-sex marriage in California

Celebrities Steven Spielberg, Kate Capshaw and Brad Pitt are throwing their weight behind efforts to stop Proposition 8, the proposed amendment to again ban same-sex marriage in California.

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California legalized same-sex marriages in May. Proposition 8 would reverse the California Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriages, allowing only marriage between a man and a woman.

Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, said in a statement, “By writing discrimination into our state constitution, Proposition 8 seeks to eliminate the right of each and every citizen in our state to marry regardless of sexual orientation. Such discrimination has NO place in California’s constitution, or any other.”

Spielberg and Capshaw donated $100,000 to the Vote No on 8, Equality for All campaign, matching Pitt’s contribution last week to the political organization Californians Against Eliminating Basic Rights.

Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg

It’s not the first time Pitt has publicized his views on marriage. In an October 2006 interview, Pitt told Esquire that he and partner Angelina Jolie weren’t planning to marry until it was legal for everyone.

Many openly gay high-profile celebs have yet to donate such large amounts to the Vote No on 8 campaigns. IN magazine reports that Rosie O’Donnell, Elton John, and Melissa Etheridge have not yet contributed to the campaign.

Although Ellen DeGeneres wrote on her blog of her support for gay marriage, and therefore her choice to vote no on Proposition 8, she has yet to make a significant public contribution to the cause.

DeGeneres was one of the first high-profile celebrities to put the same-sex marriage law into practice when she married her longtime partner Portia de Rossi on August 16.

Other high-profile same-sex weddings in the last month include George Takai to Brad Altman, and Jonathan Adler to Simon Doonan.

Variety reports political groups supporting Proposition 8, which include Focus on the Family and Knights of Columbus, have raised $16.2 million, while “No on 8″ groups have only managed to collect $10.8 million.