'YES, I WOULD APPOINT A GAY LIASION, as other large cities including New York and Los Angeles have done. Yes I favor keeping the county's gay-rights ordinance and I would never support anyone trying to repeal it.' — Miami Mayor Carlos Alvarez said at a meeting with the city's Latino community, which led him to being under fire by conservative groups, Jan. 9.
'THAT IS NOT going to be the issue.' — Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said in regards to a leaked political strategy memo that cited issues such as his support for gay rights as a potential obstacle for his 2008 presidential bid, AP, Jan. 11.
'THESE EXPERIMENTS ECHO NAZI RESEARCH in the early 1940s which aimed at eradicating homosexuality. They stink of eugenics. There is a danger that extreme homophobic regimes may try to use these experimental results to change the orientation of gay people.' — U.K. gay rights activist Peter Tatchell in response to research being done at Oregon State University and the Oregon Health and Science University on gay sheep, on GayWired.com .
'THERE'S OVER A MILLION ORPHANS in Malawi, and in my opinion the laws need to change because these children need to be rescued.' — Pop diva Madonna calls for more individuals to adopt from Africa on Letterman, Jan. 11.
'I WISH they'd stop. I don't think it's fair. … I have a feeling that if every stand-up comic was penalized for saying politically incorrect things or provocative things, I think they'd all be hung in the public square.'— Madonna told Meredith Vieira in regards to the ongoing feud between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump, The Today Show, Jan. 11.
'THAT POOR, pathetic man. …You know, he just can't—he just can't let go, but we're moving on.' — Barbara Walters said of Donald Trump and the ongoing feud between him and fellow View host Rosie O'Donnell, The View, Jan. 10.
'I DIDN'T WANT TO ADMIT MY FEARS to myself. I was afraid of a backlash. I worried that the prejudice we all know is there would be used against me, that people's way of thinking about me would change as we hobble toward enlightenment.' — Cybill Sheperd on being a new cast member of Showtime's The L Word, and how she didn't immediately jump at the role, Charlotte Observer, Jan. 7.
'YEAH, I'M SORT OF SURPRISED by that. Well, I'm not Latina, I'm not gay, I'm not from East L.A. I am brown. I'm not athletic, um … [ laughs ] I'm not very masculine. I'm not any of those things. I'm playing someone entirely different from me.' — Janina Gavankar, who plays Showtime's The L Word's newest character, a Latina player named Papi, on getting asked what it feels like to play a Latina, but not getting asked what it feels like to play a lesbian, Afterellen.com, Jan. 14.
'I DID NOT WANT TO PLAY a character that was a reflection of who I am. I also wanted my first film to be something where I was surrounded by an amazing cast. This fit that criteria to the fullest. I wanted to do something that was completely unexpected, totally out of the box, something that would blow people's minds, that the last thing on the planet earth that they would ever think I would do would be. This met that criteria well. It was very exciting and it totally took me out of my element and out of my comfort zone completely and it challenged me in a way that was very rewarding for me.' — Singer Alicia Keys on her debut movie role as a lesbian assassin in Smokin' Aces, CanMag, Jan. 10.
'I WAS ALWAYS WITH MY GIRLFRIEND at the time backstage, but I'm very private about my personal life. She was my make-up artist, my manager, my hairdresser, my everything else.' — Supermodel Eve Salvail came out to fellow model Tyra Banks and spoke about her girlfriend publicly for the first time after Banks confessed she had no idea Salvail was a lesbian when they worked together in the '90s, The Tyra Banks Show, Jan. 9.
'THE FACT IS we don't control the content on our site. Our community decides what content rises up, and also flags content that is inappropriate. Once the content is flagged, we review the video and remove it if it violates our terms of use.' — YouTube marketing manager Jenny Nielson, in a written statement to Afterellen.com regarding YouTube users flagging videos with lesbian content as 'inappropriate,' Afterellen.com, Jan. 8.
'I FEEL THAT ALL PEOPLE should be allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts, regardless of their sexual orientation.' — Former Republican Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is vying for the 2008 GOP presidential bid, in a 1994 debate with Ted Kennedy that mysteriously appeared on the internet, YouTube.com, Jan. 9.
'I'm extremely proud of her [ Rosie O'Donnell ] now that she came out. Not only did she come out, she came out with fucking dyke vengeance. I watch 'The View.' I love it.' — Longtime Village Voice columnist Michael Musto to the Dallas Voice, Dec. 22.
'Some people consider it [ my stint on Queer As Folk ] sort of a cul-de-sac. ... And other people [ say ] it gave me street cred as an actor. Other people will go, 'I don't know, man, you're gonna have trouble out there.'' — Actor Hal Sparks to the Michigan gay newspaper Between The Lines, Dec. 28.
'I WAS WRONG on some issues back then.' — Former Republican Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is vying for the 2008 GOP presidential bid, in response to a the recent appearance on the internet of a 1994 debate with Ted Kennedy showing a more liberal side of Romney that supports gay rights and abortion, AP, Jan. 11.
'IT'S THE VALUE AND ETHICS of getting married in jail while they're serving time together in the same institution. It's not Club Feb, where you go and meet your spouse.' —Kevin Grabowsky, the Prairie region president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, in response to two female Canadian inmates who tied the knot behind bars, AP, Jan. 14.
'THE GOVERNOR MADE A COMMITMENT to advancing it [ gay marriage ] this year, and he will do so.' —Darren Dopp, communications director for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, said regarding the politician's stance on advancing gay rights in the state, New York Sun, Jan. 5.
'NOT ONLY ARE WE SO HAPPY to be able to celebrate our love for reach other, but also to be able to do it in a country that properly recognizes the rights of same-sex couples.' —Alan Cumming in a statement released after recently marrying illustrator Grant Shaffer in a London civil ceremony, The Advocate, Jan. 9.
'AS RESIDENTS OF AMERICA, we would have loved to marry there, but we hope that soon the civil rights that we have been afforded in the U.K. will be available to all gay Americans, and we look forward to celebrating not only our marriage, but the end of prejudice.' —Alan Cumming said in a statement released after recently marrying illustrator Grant Shaffer in a London civil ceremony, The Advocate, Jan. 9.
'If Martin Luther King, Jr. had lived to see the gay rights chapter in this country's ongoing civil rights movement, there is no doubt he would be dismayed at what fellow religious folk have wrought. King's talk of compassion, his dream of equality for all and his poetic use of language are gone, replaced by demagoguery, calls for legalized and constitutional discrimination and hate-filled rhetoric, often spewed from the pulpits of Black churches.' — Part of a blog posted by Washington Blade Managing Editor on WashBlade.com, Jan. 11.
—Also contributing: Andrew Davis
