"It is time to admit that the gay community has a gigantic Pope problem.Under the leadership of Benedict XVI, the Vatican has become an implacable foe of liberalism, modernity and basic rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Rome has eagerly jumped with both feet into America's culture wars and is working on a global scale to punish or purge ideological dissenters within the church." Syndicated columnist Wayne Besen, Nov. 23.
"They're committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven. But you don't hate the person. You hate the sin that they commit." Vallejo, Calif., Mayor Osby Davis on gays to The New York Times, Nov. 20. On Nov. 24, Osby apologized and claimed, "My words were taken out of context."
"Christopher Rice just can't muster another clever status line about the defeat of marriage equality in another state. I just want to throw up on those fuckers." Author Christopher Rice, Ann's son, on Facebook after the New York Senate voted down a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, Dec. 2.
"It is time to seriously consider a more civil-rights-movement approach to fighting for our rights instead of pumping money into either ( political ) party in some sort of masochistic dance. We must consider a concerted and well-planned campaign of non-violent civil disobedience. Business as usual can not continue in this country as long as we are separated from the rest of our neighbors, families and friends who have full equality and freedom." Activist David Mixner writing at davidmixner.com after the New York Senate rejected a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, Dec. 3.
"People don't view gay as a culture, they view it as a sex act. And so the Washington Post gets hinky on it, all mainstream media get hinky on it, because they don't know anything about it. All they know is the idea of gay sex still makes them uncomfortable. Well, the idea of straight sex makes me uncomfortable, but there's a lot of it in our newspaper. We will always need our gay media to make sure that the fullest experience is represented." Openly gay Washington Post TV critic Hank Stuever to the D.C. gay magazine Metro Weekly, Nov. 5.
"I didn't want to jump onto ( the cover of ) a gay magazine ( Out ) as my first thing because I feel like that's putting myself in a box and limiting myself. It was my desire to stay away from talking about certain political and civil rights issues because I'm not a politician. I'm an entertainer. That is not my area of expertise. I can talk about relationships and personal experiences because as an artist those things involve writing lyrics and that part of my process. But I didn't feel comfortable talking about the March on Washington. I didn't feel comfortable, so I asked my publicist to ask the ( Out ) interviewer to stay away from the political questions. ... Not every gay man is the same gay man." American Idol celebrity Adam Lambert to EW.com, Nov. 19.
"The Madonna ( and Britney Spears same-sex-kissing ) image is very familiar and has appeared countless times, including many times on morning television. The Adam Lambert ( American Music Awards same-sex-kissing ) image is a subject of great current controversy, has not been nearly as widely disseminated and, for all we know, may still lead to legal consequences." CBS lamely explaining why on the Nov. 25 "The Early Show" it rebroadcast the Madonna kiss but blurred a rebroadcast of the Lambert kiss, to the Los Angeles Times.
"You sort of have to come out over and over and over again. Years before, the tabloids had written articles about Brian and me, when Frasier first started on the air. We didn't hide it, we didn't deny it and nobody really paid that much attention to it, and it kind of disappeared. We'd go to the awards shows together. I might occasionally mention his name, might not, trying to walk the line between being honest and open and preserving our privacy. ( M ) aybe I could've been more specific and more public sooner, but it had more to do with kind of the way I was brought up. We're just not a family that talked about private things in public. And I certainly didn't go into the acting business to talk about my politics or my personal life or anything else like that. So it took me a while to be able to do that and depending on who you talk to, some people felt that I did it at the right time, some people felt like it was too late, some people felt I shouldn't have done it at all." Actor David Hyde Pierce ( Niles on Frasier ) to the Palm Springs gay magazine The BottomLine, Nov. 20.
"I don't ( see myself as a lesbian role model ) . I don't, I don't. Because it took me so long and it was such a complicated process for me, first off, to come to terms with who and what I am." Top Gun actress Kelly McGillis to the Palm Springs gay magazine The BottomLine, Oct. 23.
"I was there from the beginning ( of AIDS ) . A lot of young people weren't there at the beginning of it. I was there in the '70s when suddenly this very strange thing started happening to friends of mine. Even though I was on the road most of the time, I was very much aware of it. By 10 years into it I had lost half my phone book. All these people that I had worked with and that I knew were gone, and at a relatively young age. I had never thought that I would be that close to death; it was shocking. ... So whenever anybody asks me to do something for this disease, I'm there." Singer Barry Manilow to the Palm Springs gay magazine The BottomLine, Dec. 4.
Assistance: Bill Kelley