"When Dennis and I started calling 10 years ago for federal action to prevent and properly prosecute hate crimes against gay, lesbian and transgendered Americans, we never imagined it would take this long.The legislation went through so many versions and so many votes that we had to constantly keep our hopes in check to keep from getting discouraged. But with President Obama's support and the continually growing bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate lining up behind the bill this year, it became clear that 2009 was the year it would finally happen. We are incredibly grateful to Congress and the president for taking this step forward on behalf of hate-crime victims and their families, especially given the continuing attacks on people simply for living their lives openly and honestly. But each of us can and must do much more to ensure true equality for all Americans." — Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother, in response to President Barack Obama's signing a GLBT hate-crimes law Oct. 28.
"The women in American cable news look like a beauty pageant. I'm not very pretty. I sorta look like a dude, and I have short hair, and I wear boring gray jackets, and I have a big nose. No one's gonna confuse me with a Fox News anchor. No one's gonna call me the anything-Honey." — Lesbian MSNBC host Rachel Maddow as quoted in New York's Daily News, Oct. 21.
"I don't remember any point at which I came to the conclusion that gay and lesbian people should be permitted to have the same relationships as the rest of us. But it's probably the way I was raised and the people I've been in contact with throughout my life. I grew up in the Bay Area ( Mountain View ) , went to law school in Berkeley, practiced law in Southern California for 15 years. I've developed respect for people's decisions in private sexual affairs. ... These are our friends and our neighbors and our colleagues. We need to treat them as equals." — Famed conservative lawyer Theodore Olson, who is fighting Prop 8 in federal court, to the San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 18.
"I think it's weird that I'm having this effect on women. It's flattering. I've never had underwear thrown at me before. Clearly there's something significant about it, because there aren't a lot of openly gay men in the entertainment industry." — American Idol celebrity Adam Lambert to Details magazine, November issue.
"I am gay, but I like kissing women sometimes. Women are pretty. It doesn't mean I'm necessarily sleeping with them." — American Idol celebrity Adam Lambert to Details magazine, November issue.
"I shave about once a week now. It kind of started to come in just like peach fuzz. I always wanted to shave. It is a very natural process. For my birthday I got a lot of shaving stuff. Still not anywhere near what I will look like, but really for the first time I am feeling much more comfortable with how I look physically." — Cher's transgender child Chaz ( formerly Chastity ) Bono to Entertainment Tonight, Oct. 29.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
