"I was sad [ when my show got cancelled ] . I was going through a grieving period, and there was a little bit of bitterness. I made mistakes publicly. There are things I acted out publicly that should've been my grieving period alone, in my corner, in my basement, rocking naked." — Ellen DeGeneres to the Dallas Morning News, Jan. 20.
"I'm playing me, so I will be gay." — DeGeneres on her upcoming CBS TV series, to the Dallas Morning News, Jan. 20.
"He's musical, which means a lot to me, and I admire his work." — Melissa Etheridge on why she and lover Julie Cypher choose rock singer David Crosby to father their kids, to Rolling Stone, Jan. 14.
"No kitchen implements were involved." — Julie Cypher, singer Melissa Etheridge's lover, on getting artificially inseminated by singer David Crosby, to Rolling Stone, Jan. 14.
"Maybe it's a good thing for a lot of straight families to see that this is not something strange." — David Crosby.
"I'm very pleased to see Bill Bradley and Al Gore competing for gay and lesbian votes. It's the first time in American history that gay, lesbian and bisexual voters have been treated as a legitimate interest group in the presidential campaign within the primary." — Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to the Kansas gay magazine Liberty Press, January issue.
"When you're president of the United States, military people are loyal to their commander and chief whatever the policy is that the commander and chief calls for for the country. And that's what I expect them to do if I'm president of the United States and we move toward gays in the military, which I intend to do." — Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Bradley during the Jan. 5 Presidential debate in Durham, New Hampshire.
"I was one of only two senators in 1993 to oppose the Clinton-Gore 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy. I understood then, as I do now, that 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' was a failed attempt at granting gays and lesbians the right to serve openly in the military. The policy has done nothing more than create a divisiveness that has spawned hatred and fear among our men and women serving in the armed forces." — Bradley speaking at the Des Moines, Iowa, gay bar the Blazing Saddle, Jan. 20.
"With some trepidation and a little embarrassment, I've decided to let myself get sucked into the Bill Bradley campaign. Having been in fairly small meetings with both Bradley and Gore, I've experienced Bradley as a real human being who has sat down, thought about it and, as he says, made a decision to make equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, two-spirit and queer people ( my list, not his ) a centerpiece of his campaign. And I think he's proved his commitment to that by everything he's done publicly. Gore, on the other hand, seemed to me to be a shockingly empty suit ( and I'm someone who has defended him over the years ) . I could go into a longer list of issues, but the bottom line is that I think Bradley is smarter and more of a leader and has a deeper ( but still imperfect ) understanding of us. And if nothing else, he's certainly pushing Gore to our side. So I'm supporting Bradley." — Longtime New York City activist and journalist Ann Northrop in a Jan. 13 e-mail to this column.
"I think we know by behavior and by attitudes [ when someone is gay ] . I think that it's clear to some of us when some people have that lifestyle." — Republican Presidential candidate John McCain Jan. 17 in New Hampshire.
"Marriage has got historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman. ... I think we ought to provide partnership benefits [ for gay couples ] and make it possible for people to do with their loved ones what anyone in a relationship should be able to do." — Hillary Clinton, Jan. 10.
"He's so stupid and so offensive that we're blessed with such outrageous enemies. Phelps is such a fool and so virulent that he wins us support." — Rep. Barney Frank on gay-hating Kansas preacher Fred Phelps, to the Kansas gay magazine Liberty Press, January issue.
"When I first got started in 1979, I was gay doing straight, but I was young enough that I could get hard. I guess I got lucky because back then all they were concerned about was beautiful women. The men were ugly, and then I came along and got a lot of work." — Porn megaproducer Gino Colbert to Los Angeles' Fab, Jan. 6.
"When you are happy in your life, you do your job better. I think she makes me feel good and we have a great relationship and she brings me a lot of confidence. I didn't have as much in 1998, but bit by bit it is coming and I am getting stronger in my mind, and on the court it helps a lot." — French lesbian tennis pro Amelie Mauresmo on lover and coach Sylvie Bourdon after winning the Sydney International on Jan. 15.
"Am I anti-gay? According to several activists quoted by The Times' Brian Lowry in a recent 'On TV' column ( 'Dr. Laura: All Is Fair in Syndication,' Jan. 11 ) , the answer would appear obvious. After all, I've spoken out against gay marriage, am on record as describing homosexuality as a deviant sexual orientation and have spoken favorably about reparative therapy for gays who wish to change their sexual orientation. Well, the truth is, I'm not. What I am is a serious Jew who has consistently stated my belief that same-sex sexual activity is incompatible with biblical Scripture and, in the same breath, that homosexuals are as entitled to love and respect as all other human beings." — Dr. Laura Schlessinger writing in The Los Angeles Times, Jan. 17.
"Polls tell us that up to 80-some percent of Canadians believe in individual gay rights, and more than half want our relationships recognized, though not given the same weight as straight marriage. But then, pollsters also find that roughly two-thirds of Canadians think we're either mentally ill or serious sinners. So, they'll respect our right not to be fired because we're gay, but they still think we're fucked in the head or going to hell." — Gareth Kirkby, managing editor of Vancouver's Xtra! West, in a Jan. 13 editorial.
