'IF YOU'RE in the public eye, you're either a womanizer or you're gay. I'm neither one.' — American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken in a
Rolling Stone July 10 cover story headlined 'Growing Up Clay,' a not-so-subtle reference to the gay rumors.
'LOVE IS LOVE, no matter the sexual orientation of the people involved.' — Noel Jones, who is pictured with her partner Lauren
Leslie on the cover of the July 7 Newsweek issue on gay marriage. Newsweek also ran a second version of the cover with a gay male
couple, Dominic Pisciotta and Andrew Berg.
'We will ensure that our legislation includes and legally recognizes the union of same-sex marriage.' — Canadian Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien June 17 announcing that the federal government agrees with an Ontario court ruling that rewrote marriage law to
include same-sex couples. Same-sex weddings are occurring in Ontario now. There is no residency requirement. American gay
couples can travel to Ontario, buy a marriage license, and get married the same day. www.cbs.gov .on.ca/mcbs/english/
marriages.htm.
'This landmark ruling is important not just to gay and lesbian Americans but to all Americans because it re-affirms the
constitutional right of privacy that belongs to all of us.' — Presidential candidate John Kerry on the Supreme Court sodomy decision.
'Well, the good news is that it opens the door to reversing Roe v. Wade. If the court can overturn a decision made 17 years ago
[Hardwick v. Bowers], they can now overturn Roe.' — Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly.
'There was a time when many of our nation's leaders would have preferred that gays and lesbians stay in the closet and stay out
of the way. Sadly, for some of our leaders, that time is still now. But I am running because I believe in my gut and in my heart and in
my mind that that time must end.' —Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry speaking in Chicago May 31.
'The worshipping of what is essentially a fabric brings up an impertinent question: Why is there a 'community' surrounding
leather? In fact, why do gay people have a penchant for 'communitizing' everything? ... People who confuse shared fetishes with
collective societies are diminishing the value of the word 'community.' If this keeps up it'll just be a matter of time before we, who fight
traffic every day, will soon be called 'the commuter community.'' — Syndicated columnist Michael Alvear in a late May filing.
'In our very first season ... I was embarrassed to have Jack at my gym, and I actually called him a fag. That happens so often in the
gay community, this sort of self-loathing, because most gay men have a kind of self-loathing imposed on them by society. Even within
the community there tends to be a lot of infighting for that reason. You know, the more conservative-type ones, the Will-types, are
embarrassed by the drag queens and the drag queens are embarrassed by the Log Cabin boys.' — Will & Grace's Eric McCormack
(Will) to the Canadian Press wire service, June 6.
'There's been an enormous change, if you compare what's out there with what was out there 15 years ago. Back then we had no
visible gay characters, or the ones we did have were used only in angsty docudrama situations to illustrate their sad, lonely lives.
Now we are in the era of Will & Grace, and that's been a great leap. To be successful, a movie or show has to appeal to general
consumers, and everyone wants to watch Will & Grace. I mean, Madonna didn't turn up on Everybody Loves Raymond.' —
Playwright/screenwriter Paul Rudnick to USA Today, June 1.
'I don't have a partner, no. I'm not interested in just having a boyfriend anymore, and a partner isn't something you can just pluck
out of a nightclub. When it's supposed to happen, it will happen. I'm learning to live in acceptance of what is. I've spent a lot of my life
not doing that. It's an abundant universe with enough love for everyone. Too often, we operate on the 'scarcity model,' the theory that
there's not enough love to go around. That causes people to be out in bars hunting for it rather than trust that it's there.' — Actor
Robert Gant, Queer As Folk's Ben Bruckner (Michael's lover), to D.C.'s Metro Weekly, May 29.
'Leaders of the extreme right are demanding that the GOP back away from any association with the gay community. The right is
calling into question what little outreach the [Republican] party had to gay voters at the crossroads of an election season. While I can't
speculate on the reasons for her decision, Mary Cheney's departure definitely comes at an interesting time.' — Human Rights
Campaign spokesman David Smith on the resignation of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter from the board of the
gay organization Republican Unity Coalition, to Advocate.com, June 2.
'I'm not a romantic leading man anymore so I don't need to nurture that public image anymore. I can talk about it now because I'm
not afraid anymore. ... When I grew up, being gay, being a sissy or anything like that, was verboten. I disliked myself intensely and
feared this part of myself intensely and had to hide it and became 'Perfect Richard, All-American Boy' as a place to hide.' — Actor
Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildare), 69, on Dateline NBC, June 1.
'It was wonderful, we had our best friends and sort of made vows that we created ourselves. It was a wonderful experience.' —
Richard Chamberlain on his commitment ceremony 20 years ago with his partner of 26 years, Martin Rabbett, to AP Radio, June 5.
'Only reality TV could create a closet for straight men. ... This show blurs the boundaries of what is considered straight and gay in
this country. It explores larger social issues than just trying to hook up.' — Scott Seomin of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation on the Bravo network's new reality series 'Boy Meets Boy' in which a gay contestant, James, spends eight days dating 15
men, some of whom are secretly straight, before choosing one as a suitor. If his choice is gay, James wins $20,000. If his choice is
straight, the suitor wins $20,000. Seomin spoke to the Philadelphia Inquirer May 28.
