My question is a very profound one: What the fuck is it to you? —Kathy Griffin ( pictured ) to Prop 8 supporters
"Old queens grew up with very little gay visibility in the media and a heightened sense of gayness being something taboo and even ( in society's eyes ) sinful and downright sick. They came of age feeling that gay was something to hide or to 'get over,' and often felt more attracted to anonymous, shame-based sex than to open, long-term connections. Those hoary attitudes still pop up, but mainly the younger gays have grown up with queer iconography everywhere they turn and with gay marriage seeming to become an eventual reality as society progresses. They have healthier views about sex and seem unencumbered by the urgency to hide and slink around in dark alleys. In fact, they generally want long-term relationships more than their predecessors did ( though they'll gladly spice up those relationships with shameless online hookups, albeit often with their partner's permission—or even inclusion. Compulsive anonymous sex is far from gone, it's just a little more upfront. ) In sum—if you're still listening—the younger queers may have far less sense of history about them, but probably a far greater chance for happiness, due to mere luck of the draw. Of course these are all gross generalizations, but as an older queen, let me tell you, they are totally true!" — Village Voice columnist Michael Musto on his blog, March 30.
"When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today's events will be why it took us so long. It is a tough question to answer because treating everyone fairly is really a matter of Iowa common sense and Iowa common decency. Today, the Iowa Supreme Court has reaffirmed those Iowa values by ruling that gay and lesbian Iowans have all the same rights and responsibilities of citizenship as any other Iowan." — Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal and Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy affirming April 3 that they will fight any efforts by legislators to amend the state constitution to override the state Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. Any proposed amendment would have to pass two different sessions of the Legislature, then go to the voters in 2012, at the earliest. The weddings begin April 24.
"The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays ( J-FLAG ) continued to report human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals. Police often did not investigate such incidents. ... Human rights NGOs and government entities agreed that brutality against homosexuals, primarily by private citizens, was widespread in the community." — From the U.S. State Department's recent "2008 Human Rights Report: Jamaica." In response, a group of San Francisco gay activists, including city Supervisor Bevan Dufty, launched a boycott of the nation March 28.
"It ( the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' gay ban ) continues to be the law and any change in the policy would require a change in the law. We will follow the law whatever it is. That dialogue, though, has really not progressed very far at this point in the administration. I think the president and I feel like we've got a lot on our plates right now, and let's push that one down the road a little bit." — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Fox News, March 29.
"I do watch a lot of Fox News. I like Charles Krauthammer and Bill O'Reilly. ... If McCain had asked me to campaign for him, I would have." — Mary Tyler Moore to Parade magazine, March 22.
"I've got a few ( questions ) for those who supported Proposition 8. ... My question is a very profound one: What the fuck is it to you? ... Why are people in this state, when we have so many things on our plate—we have a fiscal disaster going on—why is anyone even wasting their time with this issue? Why does anyone even care if gay people get married? ... You would never in a million years go up to a person of color and say: 'Well, you know, I hear black people want to get married now. I mean, it's fine if they live together.' You would cringe, would you not? 'I hear the Mexicans want to vote! There goes the neighborhood!' Right? It would sound absolutely silly. And yet, across the state, people are having dinner conversations saying, 'Well, do gay people really have the right to get married?' Yes! A domestic union, domestic partnership is not the same." — Comedian Kathy Griffin speaking at an anti-Prop 8 rally in Sacramento, March 30.
"One day, we received a glossy brochure in the mail featuring smiling portraits of Barack and his wife Michelle, urging us to vote for Proposition 8. ... I knew that Obama was on record as being against the amendment. But his statement, 'I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman,' was emblazoned at the top of the brochure. At the same time, the ads opposing Proposition 8 seemed to convey an extreme wariness of offending anyone. 'No matter how you feel about marriage...' they began. And there were no glowing couples in the ads, which struck me like running a campaign against school segregation while being afraid to show any minority kids with textbooks in their hands. But the pro-8 ads went straight for the gut, linking marriages like ours with the rape of children and compulsory sex ed for kindergarteners." — Wired magazine writer Steve Silberman in an article published in the May issue of the Buddhist magazine Shambhala Sun.
"I wouldn't want it ( gay marriage ) to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has got too many votes on this current court." — U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to 365Gay.com, March 24.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
