"I hope gay people realize their special gifts. —Photographer Tom Bianchi ( pictured ) "
' [ The Republican Party ] is making a big mistake by being so extreme. But it's not the people within the party whose fault that is. It is the system that is wrong. ... How could it be a big problem to get Democrats and Republicans together? I sleep with a Democrat every night!' — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking at the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention April 11 in San Diego.
'Well, first of all, I think that it would never happen in California because I think that California people are much further along with that issue. And, number two, I will always be there to fight against that, because it would never happen. I think we need a constitutional amendment so that foreign-born citizens can run for president, but not about gay marriage. That's a total waste of time.' — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking at the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention April 11 in San Diego, in opposition to a probable November ballot initiative aimed at amending the state Constitution to permanently ban same-sex marriage.
'This tribute to Harvey Milk is long overdue. It is indeed time for his legacy to be commemorated with a place of honor and distinction in San Francisco's City Hall.' — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in a press release about a sculpture that will be installed in City Hall's Ceremonial Rotunda on May 22. Milk, an openly gay city supervisor, was assassinated in 1978.
'All countries that love freedom, democracy and liberty should refuse to host the Olympic torch and boycott the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Athletes should wear Tibetan flags during their events and on the podium when they collect their medals.' — Leading British gay activist Peter Tatchell, who blocked a bus carrying the Olympic torch April 7 in London.
'I am on such a tightrope when it comes to backing Clinton or Obama that one tiny little thing is going to push me off the precarious high wire of indecision and into the welcoming arms of my favorite candidate. In fact, I've already fallen for both of them, only to climb back up and resume my balancing act. ... But last week I think I may have felt the hard shove in the back that will send me drifting effortlessly into Obamaland where I plan to become a permanent resident. It was accompanied by the words: 'I remember landing under sniper fire.'' — Lesbian journalist Ann Rostow writing in the San Francisco Bay Times, March 27.
'I never struggled with it ( being gay ) or thought about it. It's something that tends to come up when you hit puberty, but my attendance at junior high and high school was brief and very sporadic. My parents didn't seem to have any issue with gayness. I had no religious upbringing whatsoever, so I had no concept of it being a sin.' — Running With Scissors author Augusten Burroughs to The Advocate, May 6.
'There are some inconvenient truths that I'm now a born-again, sanctified, saved-in-the-blood Christian. So much of what's said and done in the name of that Christianity is appalling. According to my Bible, which I didn't write, homosexuality is immoral. But homosexuality is no more or less a sin than fornication. And I'm a fornicator with a capital F.' — Singer Michelle Shocked to the Dallas Voice, April 18.
'If you're reading these words I will have put down my camera, switched off the lights, drawn the curtains and taken my final bow. May all the efforts and work of a whole life, the quest for the moment of pure truth in the sublime communion of two beings under the spell of the undefinable desire for the other, inspire those who inherit my heart.' — From the final post on the blog of famed French gay porn director Jean Daniel Cadinot, who died April 23 of a heart attack at age 64.
'I never thought of myself as that ( a gay icon ) , and it never even crossed my mind when people started calling me icon and legend and all this other stuff. I remember I was over in Europe and I called my boyfriend once because they had introduced me on a show as a legend, and I said, 'You know they introduced me as 'the legendary Janet Jackson,'' and he said, 'You are.' I never thought of that or looked at myself in that way.' — Singer Janet Jackson to E! Online, April 22.
'It never frustrated me. I never got upset behind it. For what reason? Why get upset because someone said you were gay or called you gay? That should upset me? Then it would be something negative to me, and it's not. It's just another rumor, like all the rest of them.' — Singer Janet Jackson to Instinct magazine, April issue.
'I hope gay people realize their special gifts. There is a reason why gay people are numerically over-represented in many creative fields. We have myriad destinies related to making the world more beautiful and compassionate. Being outsiders to mainstream culture gives us a unique perspective. To survive, gay people have had to realize that some social rules are dead wrong—like whom we can or cannot love. That empowering lesson can help us find our own voices.' — Photographer Tom Bianchi to the Palm Springs gay magazine The BottomLine, April 11.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
