"I'm basically in support ( of same-sex marriage ) . ... I think all these states that do it should do it. ... I personally support people doing what they want to do. I think it's wrong for someone to stop someone else from doing that ( getting married ) ." Former U.S. President Bill Clinton ( pictured ) after he addressed the Campus Progress National Conference in Washington, D.C., July 8, according to a July 14 article at thenation.com .
"Things have been crawling on top of each other and madly humping away for 850 million years. Sex came first, then humanity ( 200,000ish years ago ) , then religion came along tens of thousands of years after that. Which may explain why religion, when pitted against sex ( really old ) and human nature ( pretty old ) , always loses." Gay, syndicated sex-advice columnist Dan Savage, July 16.
"The Chico's ( Tacos ) case ( where five gay men were ejected from the restaurant after two of them kissed ) may seem small in comparison with the struggles of John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., but public fallout evoked familiar imagery. A place of public accommodation. A dining room counter. Threats of boycott. A picket line. A subjugated class. City Rep. Steve Ortega went so far as to describe gay equality as 'the civil-rights issue of our time.' A lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in Austin said negative reaction to the gay kiss was reminiscent of the era when signs posted in West Texas restaurants read 'No Mexicans, no dogs.'" The El Paso Times news section goes there, July 26.
"I expected having watched the protests and the real pain that the LGBT community had experienced that there would be some real measurable remorse in the electorate. But if you look at the poll numbers since November, they really haven't moved at all." Marc Solomon, marriage director for Equality California, to The New York Times, July 26.
"Someday at some point my dissent ( against upholding Prop 8 ) will be the majority view in California. I think that's where the law is headed. Equal protection is either equal or it's not. It's not the kind of thing you can chip away at." California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno to The Recorder, July 27. Moreno was the lone vote against Prop 8.
"Forget the slick pharmaceutical ads that, since the mid-nineties, have conveyed the frequently erroneous message that living with AIDS or HIV is all about bicycling through the California Wine Country or climbing a mountain peak or enjoying an ocean cruise with your shirtless, buff buddies. For some perhaps it is, but, for many of us living with any degree or stage of HIV infection, it is a medical, emotional and psychological roller coaster with downs you don't even want to imagine. ... [ F ] or many of us, it's still all about basic survival: Can I pay my rent? Will I have enough for groceries at the end of the month? If I tell him I'm positive, will he simply walk away?" Blogger Mike Tidmus ( miketidmus.com ) , July 19.
"I think it ( the Episcopal Church ) will hold ( together ) . Now that we've done the, quote, unthinkable, the church won't look much different than before. Opponents of marriage equality predict the end of Western civilization as we know it if gay couples are allowed to marry. And then when it comes, there's no big whoop." Gay New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson to The New York Times, July 16. In mid-July, the church decided that open gays and lesbianscelibate or notcan be priests and bishops, granted local dioceses the option to bless same-sex marriages and civil unions, and launched a project to create official liturgies for the blessings.
"Does it sound campy to say I love gay men?" Meghan McCain, John's daughter, to Out.com, July 20.
Assistance: Bill Kelley