"The reason I signed DOMA wasand I said when I signed itthat I thought the question of whether gays should marry should be left up to states and to religious organizations, and if any church or other religious body wanted to recognize gay marriage, they ought to.We were attempting at the time, in a very reactionary Congress, to head off an attempt to send a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the states. And if you look at the 11 referenda much laterin 2004, in the electionwhich the Republicans put on the ballot to try to get the base vote for President Bush up, I think it's obvious that something had to be done to try to keep the Republican Congress from presenting that. The president doesn't even get to veto that. The Congress can refer constitutional amendments to the states. I didn't like signing DOMA and I certainly didn't like the constraints that were put on benefits, and I've done everything I couldand I am proud to say that the State Department was the first federal department to restore benefits to gay partners in the Obama administration, and I think we are going forward in the right direction now for federal employees." Bill Clinton speaking at the Netroots Nation conference Aug. 13 in Pittsburgh.
"Any closeted gay person who votes against the interests of gay people and is outed because of it is getting what they deserve. My only concern is that sometimes the sensational aspect of outing somebody gets us to lose sight of just what it is that was so bad about them. And they get drummed out of office and are replaced by somebody who is just as bad." Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese to U.S. News & World Report, Aug. 7.
"Though this page will back same-sex marriage no matter what the year, we hope the Courage Campaign will rethink its timing. Gay-rights activists must recognize that their lackluster campaign did little to sway the public, especially considering the misleading ads by gay-marriage opponents. So far, the Courage Campaign has not articulated a sophisticated strategy for changing this. Without other gay-rights groups by its side, its low chances are further weakened." The Los Angeles Times editorial page weighs in Aug. 17 on the battle between gay rights groups over when to attempt to repeal Proposition 8in 2010 ( the Courage Campaign's plan ) or 2012 ( Equality California's plan ) .
"For conservatives who don't like what I'm doing, it's, 'If he just had someone in his family we'd forgive him.' For liberals it's such a freakish thing that it's, 'He must have someone in his family, otherwise a conservative couldn't possibly have these views.' It's frustrating that people won't take it on face value." Famed conservative lawyer Theodore Olson, whose federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 8 is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court and could legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, to The New York Times, Aug. 18.
"The ( Olson/Boies federal ) lawsuit comes as societal views on same-sex marriage are rapidly evolving. Six states have now authorized gay couples to marry, and the politics of the issue increasingly defy convention. President Obama, for example, has said he opposes same-sex marriage, while former Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter is a lesbian, supports it." The New York Times, Aug. 18.
"I'm running on the gay marriage, no religion, legalization and taxation of marijuana platform. I don't have a chance ( at becoming mayor of New Orleans ) . I don't have a chance. ... That's my answer. I don't have a chance. That's not what I do best." Actor Brad Pitt on TV's Today show, Aug. 13.
Assistance: Bill Kelley