'Yes, I am mindful that we're all sinners, and I caution those who may try to take the speck out of their neighbor's eye when they got a log in their own. I think it's very important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts, to be a welcoming country. On the other hand, that does not mean that somebody like me needs to compromise on an issue such as marriage. And that's really where the issue is heading here in Washington, and that is the definition of marriage. I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman. And I think we ought to codify that one way or the other. And we've got lawyers looking at the best way to do that.' — George W. Bush at a July 30 press conference when asked, 'Many of your supporters believe that homosexuality is immoral. They believe that it's been given too much acceptance in policy terms and culturally. As someone who's spoken out in strongly moral terms, what's your view on homosexuality?'
'The White House finally found a weapon of mass destruction—lesbian and gay couples seeking to care for their kids and loved ones by getting married.' — Evan Wolfson, executive director of the gay group Freedom To Marry, on George W. Bush's stepped-up opposition to same-sex marriage, in July 31 comments to this column.
'Incredibly, Mr. Bush is trying to persuade the country that instead of persistent high unemployment, one trillion dollars in new federal debt over the next two years, continued American deaths in Iraq, unhindered progress towards a North Korean nuclear capacity and a bogging down on his agenda in Congress, Americans should be seriously worried about the prospect that two men who love each other might be allowed to become legally and financially responsible for each other.' — Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., July 31, following George W. Bush's press conference in which he denounced gay marriage.
'When gay marriage comes, it should have the same expectations of monogamy as straight marriage and adultery should be regarded with the same degree of social stigma. If couples don't want those rules they can stay unmarried or remain domestic partners or the like.' — Blogger and journalist Andrew Sullivan at AndrewSullivan.com, July 22.
'Will & Grace is like an oppression document. Someday we'll look back on it the way people look at Amos 'n' Andy.' — Writer and critic Sarah Schulman to the San Diego Union-Tribune, July 25.
'We write op-ed pieces, we write editorials, but nobody bites on them anymore because it's old news. The whole idea of a gay character being on TV and the Christian community being upset about it, that's tired.' — Mike Haley, head of the gender-issues department at the anti-gay organization Focus on the Family, to the San Diego Union-Tribune, July 25.
'The [federal] Employment Non-Discrimination Act ... is important legislation and would have great benefits for GLBT people. But, as an issue, it's a dog. It has consistently failed to ignite passions within the GLBT community. And with same-sex marriage exploding as an issue all around us, it seems like a quaint afterthought.' — Andrew Rapp, editor of the Boston gay newspaper Bay Windows, in a July 10 editorial.
'There are some stylish straights. And there are down-to-earth gays, slobby gays, punk gays, hip-hop homos and more. (But they're not as good spokesmen for consumerism, so you'll rarely see them on TV.)' — Brian Shott writing about Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, in the San Francisco Chronicle, July 24.
'A week after watching the first episode of 'Queer Eye,' I've found myself noticing my scuffed shoes and wondering if wire hangers are damaging my shirts. But I'm proud to say I still think a skin peel sounds like a human-rights violation.' — Brian Shott writing about Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, in the San Francisco Chronicle.
'Madison Avenue should love this show. It's about how you can make over yourself, but you have to go shopping first. I think it's disturbing and almost spooky. You've got these straight guys living on a hygiene budget of $100 a year. They seem normal and happy. Then they are converted to someone who will have to up their budget to thousands of dollars a year to maintain their fabulous look. The show is all about gay and straight people getting along. How do you do that? With gel, lotion, and perfume. ... It almost makes me laugh.' — Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, in reference to Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, to the Boston Globe, July 24.
'Titled 'Arc de Triomphe', it depicts a man bent over backwards with water spouting from his erect penis into his mouth.' — The Agence France-Press wire service July 25 describing a new statue in Salzburg, Austria, that has upset the mayor. The flesh-colored statue was installed in front of the Rupertinum Modern Art Gallery by a quartet of Austrian artists called Gelatin. They said they wanted to depict man as 'a self-contained entity.'
'Usually, extreme homophobia is an indication of a deep fear of one's own homosexual feelings. In any case, Americans tend to be much more threatened by the presence of gays than do people in other industrialized nations.' — Syndicated columnist Dr. Joyce Brothers, July 26.
'There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law. Homosexual acts close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.' — The Vatican's Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith in its July 31 document 'Considerations Regarding Proposals To Give Legal Recognition To Unions Between Homosexual Persons.'
'Those who would move from tolerance to the legitimization of specific rights for cohabiting homosexual persons need to be reminded that the approval or legalization of evil is something far different from the toleration of evil.' — The Vatican's Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith.
'Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in [same-sex] unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development. This is gravely immoral and in open contradiction to the principle, recognized also in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, that the best interests of the child, as the weaker and more vulnerable party, are to be the paramount consideration in every case.' — The Vatican's Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith.
'When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic law-maker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral.' — The Vatican's Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith.
