Pictured
Wesley Clark on The Advocate cover. Robert Gant on Queer As Folk.
'I'm not gay. I'd like to clear that fact up right now.' — Cleveland Indians minor leaguer Kazuhito Tadano, apologizing for performing in a gay-porn video in 2001 in Japan, to reporters, Jan. 27.
'All I heard was that the last thing I should do is come out. Instead, I think the interest has never been stronger. The phone definitely rings more than it ever has [with job offers].' — Queer As Folk actor Robert Gant (who plays Ben Bruckner) to USA Today, Jan. 13.
'A strong America must also value the institution of marriage. I believe we should respect individuals as we take a principled stand for one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization. Congress has already taken a stand on this issue by passing the Defense of Marriage Act, signed in 1996 by President Clinton. That statute protects marriage under federal law as the union of a man and a woman, and declares that one state may not redefine marriage for other states. Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage. The outcome of this debate is important—and so is the way we conduct it. The same moral tradition that defines marriage also teaches that each individual has dignity and value in God's sight.' — George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20.
'Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. If activist judges insist on re-defining marriage by court order, the only alternative will be the constitutional process. We must do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage.' — Bush on the Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court's affirmation of same-sex marriage.
'State of the Union addresses should be used to unite all Americans around the nation's highest priorities. Americans are threatened by terrorism and job uncertainty —not gay and lesbian families. Log Cabin Republicans have stood with this president in the war on terror. Log Cabin supports the president on cutting taxes for American families and expanding efforts to combat HIV/AIDS at home and abroad. Log Cabin will not stand by while anyone attempts to write discrimination into the Constitution. ... Last night's speech shows us how much work remains in our effort to build a more inclusive GOP.' — Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Patrick Guerriero, Jan. 21.
'President George W. Bush promised us that he would be 'a uniter, not a divider.' But for the last three years, he's divided us by demonizing the gay rights movement. And in his State of the Union speech, President Bush served notice that he will use the struggle of gay Americans to gain equal rights as a wedge issue during the general election.' — Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark writing at PlanetOut.com .
'Whether you call it [a same-sex union] marriage or not is up to the church or the synagogue or the mosque. And it's up to the state legislatures. I think marriage is a term of art. It's a term of usage. But the legal side of it is not: It's not negotiable. ... I support whatever the state says. If the state of Massachusetts says we're going to form a civil union but we're going to call it marriage, then as far as I'm concerned, that's marriage.' — Wesley Clark to The Advocate.
'Look, I didn't know anything about the gay community when I signed the [Vermont] civil-unions bill. I grew up in the same homophobic milieu that everybody else did. I was told the same thing about gay people that all heterosexuals were. And most gay people were told the same thing themselves —by parents, ministers and everybody else. I was uncomfortable, and I said so. And I got a lot of flak for it. But I still thought it was the right thing to do.' — Presidential candidate Howard Dean to Rolling Stone, Feb. 5.
'I think the Republicans are much meaner than the Democrats are. I don't want to absolve the Democrats, but Republicans are just brutal. They do not care what happens to the country as long as they stay in power, and they're willing to do anything they can to stay in power. It's the most unforgivable thing about this administration and the congressional leadership.' — Dean to Rolling Stone, Feb. 5.
'Let's face it: Iraq was NOT a threat when the U.S. invaded. The Bush Administration stretched tidbits of information beyond all recognition to lure our nation into war.' — Former Human Rights Campaign Executive Director Elizabeth Birch in a pro-Howard Dean opinion piece syndicated to the gay press.
'When the facts on Iraq are all in, we will be neither completely right nor completely wrong.' — CIA Director George Tenet.
'We're not actors, we're just guys on a TV show being ourselves. We don't claim to represent the entire gay community. There's no way five people could do that. We do happen to work in fashion and beauty industries— that's just who we are as five guys. It's important though for us to be able to be ourselves. If that means that in some way we sometimes embody these stereotypes then so be it, because if it's not OK to sometimes be stereotypical—whatever that means— then it's allowing a fearful straight community to dictate to me how I should behave.' — Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Kyan Douglas to Miami's The Weekly News, Dec. 18.
'If someone wants to make up a show about gay people who are construction workers, or doctors and lawyers, or politicians or farmers ... all those things that gay people are, then go for it. This particular show is a makeover show about five guys who are in that world.' — Douglas to the Pittsburgh gay newspaper Out, February issue.
'Queer Eye is an embarrassing shopping spree. Sometimes it's very icky, and at other times it's quite witty. But I think there's some radical things happening there. You've got these gay men and these straight men sort of crawling all over one another in their underpants, talking about things men are not supposed to talk about. And something starts to happen, the notion of the boundaries between gay and straight men start to shift.' — Angels in America author Tony Kushner to the Key West gay newspaper Celebrate!, Jan. 22.
'That guy Carson has such bad taste.' — Kushner on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
'I love the Super Bowl. There's almost nothing as relaxing as sitting on the couch snoozing with the sound of the game in the background.' — Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Ted Allen to the Kansas City Star, Feb. 1.