"I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that. It's not for me to tell you to be patient, any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half century ago. But I say this: We have made progress and we will make more. And I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I've made, but by the promises that my administration keeps." — Barack Obama addressing 300 GLBT leaders at the White House June 29 at a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
"As commander in chief, in a time of war, I do have a responsibility to see that this change ( the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell ) is administered in a practical way and a way that takes over the long term. That's why I've asked the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a plan for how to thoroughly implement a repeal. I know that every day that passes without a resolution is a deep disappointment to those men and women who continue to be discharged under this policy—patriots who often possess critical language skills and years of training and who've served this country well. But what I hope is that these cases underscore the urgency of reversing this policy not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it is essential for our national security." — Barack Obama addressing 300 GLBT leaders at the White House June 29 at a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
"I told him ( Obama ) very clearly that many in the gay community across the country are getting very anxious and that folks have felt very hurt by the Justice Department ( marriage ) brief—the language that was used in it. ... As I understand it, he did not read the brief in advance but he subsequently has read the brief and was not happy at all with both the direction as well as the language that was used—and that he expects much better from his administration." — Openly gay Steve Hildebrand, who was Barack Obama's deputy national campaign director and recently spoke with the president one-on-one at the White House about gay issues, to this column, July 5.
"If you had 20 gay people together in a room and asked how many of them actually have reached out and either called, e-mailed or sent a letter to their member of Congress over the last two months, I would say the vast, vast majority of them will have done nothing. My suggestion is that people need to become strong activists, that we need to multiply by hundreds the number of activists we have in the gay community. We need more voices, we need louder voices, and we need to tell politicians at every level we're not willing to take their excuses anymore. ... I would encourage gays and straights alike to put pressure on President Obama, on his administration, to call for action—immediate action on the laundry list of items that the gay community deserves for true equality in this country." — Openly gay Steve Hildebrand, who was Barack Obama's deputy national campaign director and recently spoke with the president one-on-one at the White House about gay issues, to this column, July 5.
"The president is goddamned wrong on this ( not ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell via executive order now ) ." — MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann, June 30.
" ( American Idol's Adam Lambert ) killed his career because now the conversation is not about his talent but about his sexual preference. He's done. You're forcing people to deal with issues they may not be interested in. Life is unfair, and the masses don't all live in L.A. They live in Wisconsin and Nebraska, and you're on crack if you think the same rules apply there. My advice is still the same, 'Shut the fuck up, just sing and let people say whatever they want.' But I do wish him the best because he's got all the talent in the world. If only the world was not homophobic, but it is. I would be the first one to vote for equal rights for gay women and men, and get the church and the state to stop telling everybody how to lead their lives, but do I think he's killed his career? Oh, in an instant. I hope I'm completely wrong. I hope he becomes the next Beatles and proves me wrong." — Kiss bassist Gene Simmons to AOL TV, June 25.
"Why does ( Dan ) Savage always wear the same shirt when he appears on national television news programs? Because I keep one button-down shirt at work that I can toss in my bike bag when I have to ride down Fisher Plaza ( in Seattle ) to do an interview with CNN or MSNBC. I don't own a lot of button-down shirts because I don't like wearing them and I don't really give a shit how I look. And I only wear collared shirts on TV because they need to clip the mic to something and my right nipple won't do. But I hear you ... my limited selection of button-down shirts make me a bad fag and I look slovenly on TV and the few button-down shirts I do own are the wrong color, cut, style, etc., and I'm wearing them all wrong. But I suspect that if I wore a different button-down shirt every time I was on TV—or if I wore more stylish shirts, and wore them well ( perhaps with an ascot? ) —Sloggers ( readers of this blog ) would bitch about me being a typical fashion-obsessed fag and rap me for all the money I'm blowing on clothes. There's no pleasing you people." — Gay writer Dan Savage on his blog, called Slog, July 1.
"I'm ... not interested in having any real publicity about who I am and what my private life is and things like that. I'm an actor and I don't want to be a [ fill-in-the- ] blank actor. ... I don't think it's really newsworthy if the gay guy from Ugly Betty is gay or not." — Actor Michael Urie to New York magazine, June 28.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
