shortly thereafter, 42 million americans tune in to watch her character, ellen morgan, reveal she too was a lesbian. not everyone cheered. the response of the christian right was pierce. the reverend jerry falwell called ellen degeneres ellen degenerate. and donald wildman railed that homosexuality was a sin grievous to god and repulsive to christians. this struggle, he declare ld, was a matter of life and death, because if we fail, we fear the judgment of god on our nation. the battle lines had been clearly drawn. and that brings me back to the supreme court. as we saw earlier in its first encounter with homosexuality, the supreme court held that a state could constitutionally make homosexual conduct a criminal offense. and the court explained that given the history of religious and moral condemnation of homosexuality, any suggestion that the constitution could be interpreted as protecting such behavior was at best facetious. the court's second foray into this arena was roamer v. evans decided exactly a decade after bowers. as i noted earlier, beginning in the late 1970s, several cit

shortly there after, some 42 million viewers tuned in to watch her character, ellen morgan, reveal that she, too, was a lesbian. but not everyone cheered. the response of the christian right was fierce. rev rand fallwell called her ellen degenerate and donald wild mann railed that homosexuality was a sin grievous to god and repulsive to christians. the struggle was a matter f f life and death because if we fail, we fear the judgment of god on our nation. the battle lines had been clearly drawn. that brings me back to the supreme court. since we saw earlier in its first encounter with homosexuality, the supreme court held in bowers that a state could make that conduct a criminal offense and the court explain ed that given the histoy of religious and moral condemnation of homosexuality, any suggestion that the constitution could be interpreted as protecting such behavior was at best, pha session. exactly a decade after bowers. several cities like dade county had enacted order nan nances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. as in dade county, however, this generat

uh, morgan, ellen. ah, oui, madame. morgan, party of 7. right this way. no. no, no, no. no. it's, uh, morgan, party of one. it says 7. oh, i see what you did. you made the old-fashioned one, which, uh, could look like a 7 with a little jaunty hat on it. if you don't get the hat jaunty enough, then it just looks like a 7, but, no, it's the one. it's still morgan, party of one. well, i have a table for morgan, party of...7. you're like a french poodle with a bone, aren't ya. i'm sure you can just squeeze me in somewhere. i mean, i'm sure you've served a party of one before. you know, if you're not careful, you could damage the celebrated french reputation for politeness. i'll see what i can do. [snaps loudly] can i get you a cocktail? oh, no, thank you. designated driver. if you give me a cocktail, i'll end up wrestling myself in the parking lot for my keys later on. it's a...a jok this way, morgan. party of...one. the rest was dirty. i just, um... yep. this is fine. thank you. wow. paige's kitchen is great. is this stuff new? yeah. apparently it's important for someone who ne