Making a surprise appearance at the gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, comedienne Wanda Sykes came out publicly as a lesbian in front of tens of thousands of concerned people, who gathered to protest against Proposition 8, which outlawed same sex marriage in California by defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Speaking about her sexuality for the first time in public, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" actress said Prop 8 made her feel like she was "attacked" and had to fight back.

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

Until now, Sykes, who married her same sex partner on October 25 after divorcing her husband ten years ago, said she did not feel the need to speak about it, although she did not really hide her partner either.

"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," explained Sykes, who was in town for a performance at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

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

Gay marriage was previously legalized in California in May following a ruling by the state's Supreme Court. After Proposition 8 was passed earlier this month, the only states in America to have legalized same sex marriage are Massachusetts and Connecticut. The new law only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman and may invalidate thousands of marriages performed in California during the months when the practice was legal in the state.

People are calling for a federal ruling that allows for gay marriage throughout the US and does not leave it up to individual states to decide. Many liken marriage to a basic right that should be afforded to all.

The recent passage of California’s Prop 8 pissed off the 44-year-old Emmy Award winning stand-up comedienne so much that she is demanding equal rights for gay and lesbians in every state.

"When my wife and I leave California, I want to have my marriage also recognized in Nevada, in Arizona, all the way to New York," she said, adding that the gay community’s galvanization over the state ban would lead to grassroots action on the federal level.

"They pissed off the wrong group of people. They have galvanized a community ... Instead of having gay marriage in California, we're going to get it across the country."

A popular sight in lesbian clubs throughout West Hollywood for years, the funny woman also rejected the theory stating that being gay is a choice. "That’s like telling me I chose to be a woman or I chose to be black," Sykes said in her four-minute speech. "Are people straight because they chose not to be gay?"