'There was no question that was a completely self-destructive act. I spent years making sure I'd never go anywhere near anything like that in L.A.—I knew how awful the police were. So why did I do that? To come out in the most self-destructive way possible!' — Singer George Michael on his 1998 arrest in a cruisy Beverly Hills, Calif., park toilet, to London's Gay Times, July issue.
_________________
Pictured: Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton. Photo by Rex Wockner
_________________
'If HIV/AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country.' — Hillary Clinton at the June 28 Democratic presidential candidates' debate.
'The pharmaceutical companies realized there wasn't any money in cures and vaccines, because once you cure them, they don't need your pills anymore. So the industry made a conscious effort to steer away from finding any permanent cures or vaccines and got the public thinking more about living with an illness or disease for the rest of their life. In my humble opinion, it is most evident with HIV.' — Filmmaker Michael Moore to The Advocate, July 17.
'The last five years have been the greatest demonstration ever seen of evil done by people who think they have God on their side. The religious right in America is completely insane. That said, I think normal Americans are becoming more liberal again. Thirty percent really believe that Jesus is in the White House; the rest watch Ellen DeGeneres' talk show on TV and accept gay couples. Homophobic bigotry is less expressed now; it's becoming as unacceptable as racism.' — Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin to London's Gay Times, July issue.
' [ Y ] ou do have to laugh at the vicious antics [ of ] this administration, and perhaps Dick Cheney in particular, that most nefarious molester of U.S. law and ignorer of all political integrity and deeply homophobic father of a creepily lesbian daughter and overall gruntingly guff sneerer at all moral principle, masterful mocker of everything you somehow still manage to think, even in your most despondent and ethically disillusioned state, that American politics is somehow supposed to be about.' — San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford, July 4.
'I've given my life and I continue to give my life, as many entertainers have done before me. I'm known for my big dick and good body and I keep it up. It's just my obligation to share it.' — Gay porn legend Jeff Stryker to Boston's In Newsweekly, July 4.
'I don't use the word 'gay.' I use the word 'homosexual.' Most of them aren't gay. They're unhappy.' — Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, July 4.
'Part of right-wing dogma holds that when a straight person snorts a line it is a personal sin. However, when a gay person does the exact same thing, it is a communal sin and part of a 'lifestyle.'' — Syndicated gay-press columnist Wayne Besen, July 4.
Assistance: Bill Kelley