"When Proposition 8 passed, I felt the gay community thought because it was California, a liberal state, they didn't need to pay attention and so they didn't do enough work to fight for it. I think like all minorities who have had to struggle to get their rights politically we should have been more organized. I think it forced everybody to come to their senses about that. Over the next couple of years I think gay marriage will just be accepted; we've got too many other things to think about. I think that some people who are really freaked out about it will just throw in the towel like they did when they were racist." — Comedian and actress Sandra Bernhard ( Photo by Stan Barouh ) to London's Pink Paper, May 28.
"One day we're gonna put screw and screw together and realize that the problem is our unrealistic and unnatural fixation on monogamy and not that 'some men just can't keep it in their pants.' Human beings aren't wired to be sexually monogamous—male or female—and the feigned shock with which we're required to greet each new revelation of infidelity on the part of an elected official, a reality-show star, or a sports figure would be comical if the costs weren't so great. Elevating monogamy over all else—insisting that it, and it alone, is true love's only marker—destroys marriages and families and careers. Which is not to say that anything goes and that people shouldn't be expected to honor their commitments and that there aren't folks out there who're capable of remaining monogamous over the three, four, five, or six decade course of a marriage. But think of all the people who've cheated and gotten caught. Now think about all the people who've cheated and gotten away with it. Our ideals about the place of sex within marriage are at war with who and what we are. They're at war with reality. Sex is powerful, relationships are fragile. Why on earth do we insist on pitting them against each other?" — Gay writer Dan Savage on his blog, June 24.
"Sorry to admit it, but just had to delete several hundred FB ( Facebook ) emails. I think they call it 'email bankruptcy.' Or 'giving up.' If you sent me something important and I didn't get back to you, let's start over." — Popular gay blogger Joe.My.God. ( Joe Jervis ) on his Facebook page, June 23.
"Marriage doesn't interest me in that classical way. We ( my partner and I ) don't need it in a way that some people need it. I'm not being a snob; I think everybody that wants it should have access to it." — Comedian and actress Sandra Bernhard to London's Pink Paper, May 28.
"I was not in favor of his ( Obama's ) coming out for same-sex marriage when he first got elected. But I would hope he would be by the time he runs for re-election." — Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to GQ, June 12.
"It was like a moment of truth. ( A reporter ) asked me the question ( of whether I was looking to date a man or a woman ) and I thought, Hmm, do I say the truth, or do I just say, 'It's none of your business,' which is my standard answer? I said: 'You know, I'm just going to say the truth. Definitely a woman.'" — Top Gun actress Kelly McGillis to People magazine, May 28.
"Sometimes people ask me, 'How does being gay affect the way that you see the world?' And I'm, like, 'I don't know, I've been gay since I was 17!' I've never not been gay and seen the world. So I've never been a broadcaster who didn't have an AIDS activist background. So I don't know how it changed me. I mean, it's definitely changed some of my political orientation. I learned from the AIDS movement that people should speak for themselves. And I think that maybe manifests on my show ... in that I do long introductions before I let guests talk usually, but then the payoff is that they get to talk without being interrupted." — MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow to Poz magazine, June issue.
"Dykes on bikes, Tarzana Trannies, Jewish Leather Daddies and Kathy Griffin's mom. Don't get me wrong. I love these people. Let's call them the 'Usual Suspects.' They fought for my rights and taught me how to dance. But they should no longer be representing 'the pride.' It's a different time. ... I cringe when a local newsperson shoves a microphone in the face of some young 95-pound twink ( who ) looks into the camera and screams into the reporter's microphone: 'Get down here now. The drinks are big. But you know what's bigger...' He laughs in a high-pitched cackle and his 'girlfriends' join in. I wish they'd read more and drink less. I'm depressed. Why is this the voice speaking for me? I know there were many types of interesting, smart people on the parade route showing their support. But guess what, guys and gals? None of you have a loud enough, strong enough or powerful enough voice to be heard over the thumping techno backbeat of the big gay parade. This is a huge problem." — Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick writing at the Huffington Post, June 18.
"For years, I experienced a peculiar kind of fame or infamy—depending on one's perspective—for taking on the public face of sex without condoms. ... In the 1990s, I was called a murderer for talking about unprotected sex; now, public health workers call ( barebacking between partners of the same HIV status ) 'serosorting' and deem it a harm-reduction strategy. Imagine that." — Longtime Los Angeles and San Diego AIDS activist Tony Valenzuela to POZ magazine, July issue.
"I tried to come out as a gay man, I tried to come out as a lesbian. I was even a trannie for a while. But no group wants me. My parade is one person!" — Joan Rivers to The Village Voice, June 2.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
