My life in Jamaica was constantly in danger. —Gay Jamaican Ven Messam ( pictured ) , who was granted asylum by the U.S. government Nov. 8.
'When I told my parents that I was starting my transition [ in my early 20s ] , my dad said, 'Well, that makes so much more sense 'cause I never saw you any other way and now it totally works.' It was unbelievable. The second I told them they flew to New York and wanted to make sure I was OK. And they found out I was happier.' — Transgender actress Candis Cayne, who plays the transgender character Carmelita on TV's Dirty Sexy Money, to ABC News, Nov. 13.
'I support enthusiastically the right of transgender people to live their lives as they wish and to be free from government discrimination. But that question is logically separate from gay rights, and always has been. Many transgender people are heterosexual; most gay people have no internal conflict with their own gender. It remains important to insist that, just because so many in the gay world have been browbeaten into repeating the concept of an 'LGBT community', that doesn't mean it exists. I don't really believe there is even a 'gay and lesbian community' as such. There are common interests in violating heterosexual norms, but the experience of being a gay man and being a lesbian are often experientially more different than the contrast between many straight women and lesbians or between many straight men and gay men.' — Gay writer Andrew Sullivan on his blog, Nov. 9.
'I am grateful to the United States government for saving my life. My life in Jamaica was constantly in danger, with angry mobs carrying machetes, stones, knives and guns threatening to kill me because I am gay. When I tried to contact the police for help, the police instead threatened to arrest me and told me to leave the country if I wanted to stay safe.' — Gay Jamaican Ven Messam, who was granted asylum in the U.S. Nov. 8 by the Department of Homeland Security because he had been threatened by anti-gay mobs that run rampant on the island. Messam was represented by Columbia University Law School's new Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic.
'Sexual disposition parallels race—I was born black and had no choice. I couldn't and wouldn't change if I could. Like race, our sexuality isn't a preference—it is immutable, unchangeable, and the Constitution protects us all against prejudices and discrimination based on immutable differences. ... Opponents of homosexuality have the right to their opinion: they do not have the right to use their beliefs to denigrate and marginalize others.' — Julian Bond, board chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in a Sept. 18 letter to the organization's chapter in Fort Lauderdale, which has an anti-gay mayor.
'I was supposed to play the [ Sex and the City ] role of Miranda originally. I can't imagine that showing up every week to play a character who is bitter, bitchy, eating cake out of trash cans, could have been in any way satisfying. I've never seen women relate to each other the way these four women talk to each other. It's absurd and the number one problem is that those ladies are all too old to be running around doing what they are doing.' — Lesbian comic and actress Sandra Bernhard to London's The Independent, Oct. 21.
'We were a very extreme example of being mega-out. But for folks who aren't on television shows, who are gay, who haven't gone through that process yet, our experience just goes to show how much more relaxed and happy and comfortable you can be when you're living an honest life. I wish people like Larry Craig could have had that experience as well. I guess it's not too late [ for Craig ] , or maybe it is. You can't say it enough, how important it is for gay people to be out and open. And when you are, even if it hasn't been broadcast in 98 countries, you can check into a hotel with your partner and say 'Yeah, we want a king bed.' And you get to a point where that isn't difficult anymore.' — Queer Eye's Ted Allen to AfterElton.com, Oct. 9.
'Obviously I'm in a relationship that's not monogamous, and it really works for us. You have to choose what works in any given relationship. I'd be horrified if George wasn't emotionally faithful to me, but we're not sexually monogamous. If you're in a relationship that isn't monogamous, you have to negotiate another set of rules.' — Kenny Goss, singer George Michael's partner, to Britain's Gay Times, October issue.
'I only officially came out to my friends when George was arrested [ in a men's room ] in 1998. We'd been together for a couple of years at that point, and my friends at home in Texas were beginning to wonder. I was never able to discuss it with my parents. They died without us ever talking about it. After George was arrested, it was on the cover of every paper. My parents had reporters on their doorstep, but we still never discussed it. I'd go home for Christmas with my brother, and it was like this big, pink elephant in the middle of the room that nobody mentioned.' — Kenny Goss, singer George Michael's partner, to Britain's Gay Times, October issue.
'I doubt that anything could get past that thick skull and gargantuan ego. I think he [ George W. Bush ] should be renamed 'The Duper,' along with his close friend Mr. [ Tony ] Blair. On their tombstones should be engraved, 'I duped millions, created carnage, made millions, and slept very soundly at night.'' — Singer Annie Lennox to the Carolinas gay newspaper Q-Notes, Nov. 3.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
