Coming out, coming out, coming out. That's the only thing I've ever done, really.—Openly gay actor Sir Ian McKellen ( pictured ) .
' [ T ] he bar is set a little higher now. If someone has photos or voice mail or a love letter, that is different. After eight of them, I don't know what else you need.' — Dan Popkey, the Idaho Statesman reporter who has aggressively pursued the story of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's alleged numerous gay sexcapades, to Editor & Publisher, Dec. 3. The Statesman now has published the stories of eight men—four of them named—who claim they had sex with Craig or experienced sexual come-ons from him.
'Sure, they can do whatever they want and they can call it whatever they want, just so they don't expect to impose their relationship on somebody else. They can't make me, personally, accept what they do, but they can—gay couples can do whatever they want. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see all governments out of the marriage question. I don't think it's a state function. I think it's a religious function. And there was a time when only churches dealt with, you know, marriage, and they determined what it was. But a hundred years or so ago for health reasons—they claim that the state would protect us if we knew more about our spouses and we did health testing—and you had to get a license to get married and I don't agree with that.' — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul to ABC News, Dec. 7.
'I am for same-sex marriage. ... From a personal standpoint, it would be hypocritical to look at a community that has literally supported me when no one else thought I had anything to offer, meaning in terms of commercial success. ... The community remained faithful to me and supported me and saved my life and my home and allowed me to take care of people that I love. ... This community afforded me that opportunity so that I would not end up on Skid Row—this community solely. And church people did not do that. ... [ U ] nconditional love has been demonstrated more in this [ gay ] community than in any other community, so why not allow them to have this same type of love that they have given others? ... I don't have anything to base it [ support for same-sex marriage ] on, I'm not a Bible scholar or anything—but my own personal life would be nothing without the gay community.' — Singer Jennifer Holliday of Dreamgirls fame to the Palm Springs gay magazine The BottomLine, Nov. 9.
'It is because sexism and misogyny are so pervasive in this culture that gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals still endure rampant discrimination and abuse. I know it must crush those 'straight acting' gay men and lesbians to be told that after all their hard work to cultivate the ability to pass, the plain fact is they will NEVER succeed. These men will always be seen as the 'sissies' and the 'faggots' and these women will always be 'man-hating dykes' until we dismantle patriarchy, corral sexism, and vanquish their blood-sucking sibling, homophobia.' — National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell in a Nov. 26 blog post.
'It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents.' — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to the Associated Press in 1992, as reported by the AP on Dec. 8.
'I don't know whether people are born that way. People who are gay say that they're born that way. But one thing I know, that the behavior one practices is a choice. We may have certain tendencies, but how we behave and how we carry out our behavior [ is the issue ] .' — Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on NBC-TV's Meet the Press, Dec. 30.
'I was always a girl that dated guys and then I shot Two Girls in Love and was dating a guy and then I had a relationship with a woman. I thought, I can't say I'm straight anymore, that would just be a lie. I looked for other relationships with women and they didn't happen. I don't know if that's because I'm shyer with women. And then ultimately I met my husband and got married. I wish I had met more women. I guess people can define my sexuality however they see fit, but I mostly just don't define it.' — Actress Laurel Holloman, Tina on Showtime's The L Word, to the national lesbian magazine Curve, January/February issue.
'I actually quit my job to do the show because they wouldn't let me take a leave. I honestly don't know what to do now. I don't know. We'll see.' — Gay Mormon Todd Herzog, winner of this season's Survivor, to AfterElton.com, Dec. 17.
'Who is the most annoying celebrity? Rosie O'Donnell - 44%. Paris Hilton - 24%. Ann Coulter - 16%. Heather Mills McCartney - 12%. Perez Hilton - 4%.' — From the results of Parade magazine's 2007 Year-End Pop Culture Poll, which quizzed 2,000 readers of the magazine's Web site.
'Coming out, coming out, coming out. That's the only thing I've ever done, really. That's what it can say on the gravestone. That will be the obituary.' — Actor Sir Ian McKellen to the BBC, Dec. 29.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
