The passing of Proposition 8 is no laughing matter to comedian Wanda Sykes, who married her wife just days before the Californian gay marriage ban was passed. This weekend, she spoke at a rally in Las Vegas, and the UNLV Rebel Yell reports that she said, “Our country took one step forward when [America] elected the first black man to office, but 12 strides back when California banned gay marriage.”

According to the AP:

"You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life," Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.

"Everybody that knows me personally they know I'm gay. But that's the way people should be able to live their lives," she said.

Sykes, who is known for her feisty and blunt style, said the passage of California's Proposition 8 made her feel like she was "attacked."

"Now, I gotta get in their face," she said. "I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay."

Wanda Sykes recently appeared in the film Evan Almighty, and has been named one of the top 25 funniest Americans by Entertainment Weekly.