Pictured San Francisco Mayor Newsom
'I support all of California's existing laws that provide domestic-partnership benefits and protections. However, Californians spoke on the issue of same-sex marriage when they overwhelmingly approved California's law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. I support that law and encourage San Francisco officials to obey that law. The courts should act quickly to resolve this matter.' — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Feb. 17.
'Maybe the next thing is another city that hands out licenses for assault weapons, and someone else hands out licenses for selling drugs. I mean, we can't do that. ... When I was in San Francisco for the Republican convention, all of a sudden we see riots and we see protests and we see people clashing. The next thing we know is there are injured or there are dead people, and we don't want to have that.' — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, hallucinating on TV's Meet The Press, Feb. 22.
'I think those issues should be left to the state, so I have no use for a constitutional amendment or change.' — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week.
'Multnomah County is squarely in line with a national trend toward treating same-sex couples equally under the law. Lesbian and gay couples cannot be treated equally if they cannot marry, since they need the protections and support that only marriage provides. The marriages in Multnomah County aren't just part of a national trend, they're part of a long-running tradition of fairness in Oregon.' — Jennifer C. Pizer, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal's Western Regional Office.
'I haven't even been paying attention [to the presidential campaign]. I'm not a political person. ... I don't know enough about what's going on to say anything.' — Ellen DeGeneres to Time magazine, Feb. 23.
'I had no idea that when I started performing in that bathhouse years ago that decades later I would be in that same damn bathhouse. But honestly, I love my boys in the gay community. You guys are probably the most loyal fans I have!' — Bette Midler to the Las Vegas Bugle, Feb. 13.
'I was sorry to see the San Francisco thing go forward. ... If we go forward in Massachusetts and get same-sex marriage on the books, it's going to be binding and incontestable. ... When you're in a real struggle, San Francisco making a symbolic point becomes a diversion.' — Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to the Associated Press, Feb. 18.
'It's a very, very shocking issue to some parts of the American people. It's an issue that people want to talk about and not want the Massachusetts Supreme Court or the mayor of San Francisco to make their choice for them. I know that's what the president thinks. I think people ought to have that opportunity to debate it, to think about it, to see what the American people really want to do about the issue.' — Laura Bush on same-sex marriage to the Associated Press, Feb. 18.
'Well, the President said today, I think in a press conference, that it's troubling to him that what's happening in San Francisco is actually against the law, because of the Defense of Marriage Act; and that he thinks it's an issue that needs to be debated and discussed, and not really an issue for the Massachusetts supreme court to choose, or for the mayor of San Francisco, for that matter — that it's an issue for all Americans to debate and come to terms with and discuss.' — Laura Bush, speaking at the Rancho Mirage, Calif., public library, Feb. 18.
'If we are to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in America. Decisive and democratic action is needed, because attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country. The Constitution says that full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts and records and judicial proceedings of every other state. Those who want to change the meaning of marriage will claim that this provision requires all states and cities to recognize same-sex marriages performed anywhere in America.' — President George W. Bush, Feb. 24.
'The truth is, this is a ploy to appease the right wing of his party and change the subject from his dismal record on job-creation and foreign policy.' — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on President Bush's endorsement of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, to the San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 24.
'It's a desperate act by a desperate man who has lost control of the economy and job flight, the war on terrorism and the war he began in Iraq. ... It's a very dark day in American history when for the first time an American president has endorsed codifying discrimination in our most precious document.' — California Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, on President Bush's endorsement of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, to the San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 24.
'I think the actions of the president yesterday ... are, you know, in my opinion, the most vile and hateful words ever spoken by a single president in my opinion. I am stunned, and I am horrified.' — Rosie O'Donnell on George W. Bush's support for amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, to ABC News, Feb. 26.
'It [fame] does make it easier to have sex with way cute boys, boys that are out of my league, and it makes it harder to have a relationship. But I don't really want a meaningful relationship right now, so what's happening is fine. By the time I do want a meaningful relationship, the inappropriate young cute ones will all have pissed off and it'll be me wanking over my Baftas with a three-legged blind dog surrounded by piles of old newspapers.' — BBC and BBC America talk-show host Graham Norton to Britain's The Guardian, Feb. 20.
'We think it crosses the line of decency. We don't support the harassment or attacking of family members, gay or straight, of elected officials.' — Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Patrick Guerriero denouncing DearMary.com—which wants U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's openly lesbian daughter Mary to speak out against the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage —to the Washington Post, Feb. 24.
