Oprah Winfrey on Sunday suggested that
maybe gay and lesbian couples can help make marriage better.
Gay marriage was the topic Sunday on
Super Soul Sunday: The Bigger Picture, cabler OWN's roundtable
panel hosted by Oprah Winfrey.
Panelists included the Rev. Ed Bacon,
an episcopal priest from Los Angeles, Elizabeth Lesser, founder of
the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in New York and author of
Broken Open, and Mark Nepo, a poet and philosopher.
“If [marriage equality] becomes a
dominant force in the United States does that mean that the
institution of marriage has to be reexamined?” Winfrey asked.
“It's going to be enriched,” Bacon
answered. “I've never had a straight couple come to me and say,
'My marriage is in trouble because of the gay couple living next
door.' To the contrary, I've had people come to me and say, 'Because
of the love between Bob and Joe, I have learned how better to love my
wife, or my husband.' We have gay couples in our parish ...”
“You married gay couples,” Winfrey
interrupted.
“ … And I've married gay couples.
Lots of them. And we have lots of kids of gay parents. And they're
just part of the woodwork. That's the notable thing that is not
notable any more.”
When Lesser noted that the institution
of marriage was in trouble long before gays started to marry, Winfrey
remarked: “Maybe the gay people can help it.” (The video is
embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)