"In July, when the Mormon Church was beginning to build its organizing machine—signing up volunteers, raising money, spreading the word—key members of the No on 8 leadership were literally absent. ( Equality California head Geoff ) Kors took a 2 1/2-week vacation. ( L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center head Lorri ) Jean went to Alaska for the month." — The Advocate, Dec. 16.
"The Proposition 8 people thought that they won when they passed Prop 8, but what they didn't realize ( is that ) by passing Prop 8 they've just made it so now we're not going to settle for anything less than full equality throughout the entire country—not just in a few states. ... Our opposition—they haven't seen anything yet." — Amy Balliett, co-founder and co-coordinator of Join The Impact, the group responsible for the huge Nov. 15 protests against Prop 8 that took place in all 50 states, to the Palm Springs gay magazine The BottomLine, Dec. 5.
"Even from my vantage point, I would have a wish list of things I would have done differently ... to give our community a greater level of engagement. ... It's totally legitimate to say that the normal way of doing things did not get us to the finish line. And now some of those ( mainstream gay ) groups need to move over a couple of lanes to make room ( for new activists ) ." — National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell, a member of the No on 8 campaign's executive committee, to The New York Times, Dec. 9.
"The anti-Prop 8 campaign was an exercise in frustration. What we're seeing now ... is brilliant. ... These nationwide protests are a watershed moment of sorts—the moment when the gay community realized that it had the power to fight for change on its own, and didn't require any of its so-called, self-appointed 'leaders' to give them permission to engage." — Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga, writing at DailyKos.com, Nov. 17.
"I suspect history will show that the defeat of Prop 8, rather than halt momentum toward marriage equality ( as I once feared ) , will prove the spark that launches the movement nationwide." — Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga, writing at DailyKos.com, Nov. 17.
"We know how much the right likes to play political and cultural hardball, and then turn around and accuse us of lashing out first. You give a pass to a religious group—one that looks down upon minorities and women—when they use their money and membership rolls to roll back the rights of others, and then you label us 'fascists' when we fight back." — Lesbian activist Candace Gingrich in an open letter to her brother, Newt Gingrich, published Nov. 22 at The Huffington Post. Newt was speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999 and was named Time magazine's person of the year in 1995 for his role in flipping the House to majority Republican.
"What really worries me is that you are always willing to use LGBT Americans as political weapons to further your ambitions. That's really so '90s, Newt. In this day and age, it's embarrassing to watch you talk like that. You should be more afraid of the new political climate in America, because, there is no place for you in it. In other words, stop being a hater, big bro." — Lesbian activist Candace Gingrich in an open letter to her brother, Newt Gingrich, published Nov. 22 at The Huffington Post. Newt was speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999 and was named Time magazine's person of the year in 1995 for his role in flipping the House to majority Republican.
"The history of my comic strip is like a picture of the gay and lesbian newspaper community. These papers are folding left and right. I used to be in 70 newspapers and, by the time I quit, it was down to maybe thirtysomething. Many of them could not pay, and it was getting really tough. On the other hand, the only reason I was able to do the comic strip and nothing else for all these years was because of these newspapers and because of gay and lesbian newspapers starting up in almost every major city in the country." — Dykes To Watch Out For cartoonist Alison Bechdel, to Chicago's Windy City Times, Nov. 5.
"I was not emotionally healthy back when I was closeted. I was very fat, very disheveled, and I now know that job satisfaction is no substitute for personal satisfaction. ... When I had this secret, it stopped me from relating to people in a healthy way." — U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to Advocate.com, Dec. 4.
"I would prefer people channeled that energy ( from the Prop 8 protests ) —whether it's for marriage equality or employment nondiscrimination—into mobilizing and trying to persuade those who disagree with them. Notice that the NRA never marches. This is my continual debate with people in the gay community, many of whom want to hold rallies instead of doing political lobbying." — U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to Advocate.com, Dec. 4.
"I've never really been, you know, married during a directorial time in my life. How do you, you know, balance the personal?" — Barbra Streisand, telling the Washington Post on Dec. 7 that she wants to make Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart into a movie but is afraid the all-consuming task would affect her relationship with husband James Brolin.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
