"Marriage? Babies? Please. I want to be illegal. I want to live outside the mainstream." — Gay actor Rupert Everett ( pictured ) to The Daily Beast, April 6.
"Only ten years ago, it looked like gay people would not be able to marry until the cows came home. With an Iowa Supreme Court victory and the state legislature approving marriage in Vermont, gay couples will soon be coming home to their cows—with marriage licenses in hand. The farm teams have brought us major league victories and reinvigorated the GLBT marriage movement." — Syndicated gay columnist Wayne Besen, April 7.
"That ( Iowa's legalization of same-sex marriage ) caught me, candidly, by surprise, proverbially flat-footed. It was around April 1st, so I thought, honestly, it was an April Fool's joke. ... Now you have four states that are legally sanctioning same-sex marriage, and New York and California are not among them. Who could have predicted that?" — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to The New York Times, April 11.
"If the California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8, California will be an outlier in the ongoing history of equality that is now exemplified by Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa, and Massachusetts, as well as many nations around the world." — Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and lead lawyer for the gay side in the California marriage case, in an April 7 statement.
"The Supreme Court of Iowa, in a unanimous decision, has clearly stated that the Constitution of our state, which guarantees equal protection of the law to all Iowans, requires the State of Iowa to recognize the civil marriage contract of two people of the same gender. The Court also concluded that the denial of this right constitutes discrimination. Therefore, after careful consideration and a thorough reading of the Court's decision, I am reluctant to support amending the Iowa Constitution to add a provision that our Supreme Court has said is unlawful and discriminatory. As Governor, I must respect the authority of the Iowa Supreme Court, and have a duty to uphold the Constitution of the State of Iowa. I also fully respect the right of all Iowans to live under the full protection of Iowa's Constitution." — Gov. Chet Culver in an April 7 statement.
"So there are the vermin now celebrating twisted perverse marriage in the middle of America, calling it a victory. It's a victory for perversion in my opinion. ... You want me to tell you what makes me sick? When I see two puffy white males kissing each other, I wanna puke. When I see two women kissing each other, on the lips, as lovers, I wanna vomit. Why? It's unnatural. It's against all of the laws of mankind. It is against all the laws of humankind. It is suicide for a society to embrace such behavior." — Syndicated radio host Michael Savage, April 6.
"I believe life begins at conception and I believe that people who fall in love should have the option to get married. Lest we forget, our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, grants the same rights to everyone in this country—'All men are created equal.' If you think certain rights should not apply to certain people, then you are saying those people are not equal. People may always have a difference of opinion on certain lifestyles, but championing a position that wants to treat people unequally isn't just un-Republican. At its fundamental core, it's un-American." — Meghan McCain, John McCain's daughter, writing at The Daily Beast, April 13.
"Whenever I get a wedding invitation, I start to spew chunks all over the fine furnishings of my luxury co-op. What the invite signals is the realization that I'll be flushing away an entire day spent awkwardly standing around in a borrowed suit and gnawing at generic catered crabcakes and cannoli, all while having to cheer on two people I like who will surely be at each other's throats in six months. ... Why does your decision to tie the knot have to result in me eating sour fish tacos, engaging in small talk with people who think I'm caca, and spending hard-earned cash on a present you'll surely throw out the second the room clears?" — Village Voice columnist Michael Musto writing on his blog, April 14.
"I'm very big on human beings finding love, attachment and commitment and being faithful to it, because there's more to benefit when there is real true commitment and faithfulness to it. I still believe, as just every president has, and all the people who ran for office, that marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman. So not calling it marriage works for me. But that two people would have that sort of commitment to me is very healthy and very positive thing in their lives and society as a whole. ... That's ( same-sex relationships ) a beautiful thing and a healthy thing." — Laura Schlessinger ( Dr. Laura ) , singing a new tune to CNN's Larry King, April 8.
"The gay community tried to make a thing about that a number of years ago. ... I don't try to run my children's lives, and he has been very supportive. He works for Eagle Forum. He runs my operations office and he's very supportive of all the positions that I've taken." — Anti-feminist activist Phyllis Schlafly when asked by Time magazine on April 7, "You have a gay son, don't you?"
"If more homosexuals were in the Obamas' lives, there is no way Michelle would have worn a twin set when she met the queen." — Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick to The New York Times, April 11.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
