On February 12th a 15 year-old boy was murdered by a classmate in Oxnard, California for being gay. The victim, Lawrence King, had asked his classmate, Brandon, to be his valentine. Brandon responded by killing him.

Ellen DeGeneres, a long-time advocate of gay rights, began her show on Friday, February 28th on an uncharacteristic serious note to address the matter. Barely choking back her tears, Ellen looked into the camera and said, "I don't mean to be political. I'm not a political person. This is personal to me."

She continued, "When the message out there is that being gay is so horrible you could be killed for it, we need to change the message."

"Larry was not a second-class citizen," she said, offering such a message. "I am not a second-class citizen. It's okay if you're gay."

In October this year, it will be a full decade since Matthew Shepard was murdered for being gay. And while that tragedy had begun to seem like an antiquated sign of its times, one that we've moved beyond in the enlightened 21st Century, this is a painful reminder that hate and homophobia still exist.

Ellen ended her opening monologue with a plea: "This is an election year, and there's a lot of talk about change," she said. "And one thing we should change is hate. Check on who you're voting for and if that person believes we are all truly equal under the law. And if you're not sure, change your vote. We deserve better."