'If you are actively engaging in homosexual relations, those relations are about selfish hedonism. If my daughter were a lesbian, I'd look at her and say, 'That is a relationship that is based on selfish hedonism.' I would also tell my daughter that it's a sin, and she needs to pray to the Lord God to help her to deal with that sin.' — Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes to the Chicago Tribune, Aug. 31.
'Don't be a girlie man: Vote Republican. Don't be a girlie man: Join the College Republicans.' — Slogans on two T-shirts being sold by the California College Republicans at several universities, according to the Aug. 30 Oakland Tribune.
'Maybe, just maybe, you don't agree with this party on every single issue. I say to you tonight I believe that's not only OK, that's what's great about this country. Here we can respectfully disagree and still be patriotic, still be American and still be good Republicans.' — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressing the Republican National Convention, Aug. 31.
'There is another way you can tell you're a Republican. You have faith in free enterprise, faith in the resourcefulness of the American people, and faith in the U.S. economy. To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie men!' — Schwarzenegger.
'Most senators in both parties voted to protect the institution of marriage through the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by President Bill Clinton, but not John Kerry.' — Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele addressing the Republican Convention.
'Marriage is not important because it's a convenient invention or the latest reality show. Marriage is important because it is the cornerstone of civilization and the foundation of the family. Marriage between a man and a woman isn't something Republicans invented. But it is something Republicans will defend.' — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., addressing the Republican National Convention, Aug. 31.
'Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society, I support the protection of marriage against activist judges. And I will continue to appoint federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.' — President George W. Bush in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Sept. 2.
'My opponent recently announced that he's the candidate of 'conservative values,' which must have come as a surprise to a lot of his supporters. There's some problems with this claim. If you say the heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I'm afraid you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you voted against the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed, you are not the candidate of conservative values.' — President George W. Bush in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Sept. 2.
'I make of it that Mary is shoved back in the closet as viciously and strongly as the Cheney family could and the GOP could. I would be shocked if the Bush-Cheney campaign told Mary that she and Heather were absolutely A-OK on stage. Mary's life partner that wears a gold wedding band along with Mary? There's no way.' — John Aravosis, founder of DearMary.com, after Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter Mary was the only member of the Cheney family not to appear on stage at the Republican National Convention following Dick Cheney's Sept. 1 speech and George W. Bush's Sept. 2 speech.
'There's a certain line in the sand that you just can't cross, and so it's hard to look yourself in the face and say, 'I'm a good foot soldier' if somebody's trying to amend the U.S. Constitution. ... The question for me is do I vote for President Bush, or not vote at all.' — Bob Kabel, a gay D.C. delegate to the Republican National Convention, to this column, Sept. 1.
'[President Bush] made it clear that discriminating against gay people, keeping them from full civic dignity and equality, is now a core value for him and his party. The opposite is a core value for me. Some things you can trade away. Some things you can compromise on. Some things you can give any politician a pass on. But there are other values—of basic human dignity and equality—that cannot be sacrificed without losing your integrity itself. That's why, despite my deep admiration for some of what this president has done to defeat terror, and my affection for him as a human being, I cannot support his candidacy. ... I would be betraying the people I love.' — Gay Republican journalist Andrew Sullivan writing at AndrewSullivan.com, Sept. 3.
'I have a close circle of friends, and they are my family. I'm not precluding meeting someone and if it worked out, great, but I don't judge my life like that. ... Only young men are stupid enough to go out with someone because they are on the telly.' — Comedy Central's Graham Norton, 41, to The Scotsman, Sept. 8.
'When I walk into a restaurant I check out the women before the men, they're more glamorous. If it wasn't for [my boyfriend] Kenny [Goss], I'd have sex with a woman, no problem.' — Singer George Michael to Britain's GQ, Sept. 10.
''Eye' does not need a facelift. Maybe a little Botox.' — Bravo cable network president Lauren Zalaznick on the channel's flagship program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, to CNN, Sept. 10. The show's ratings are down 40 percent over a year ago.
'None of us have ever been so happy to take home a lady.' — Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley as the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program at the Creative Arts Primetime Emmys, Sept. 12 in Los Angeles.
'[T]he Bush-Cheney team [is] the most anti-gay administration in the history of the gay rights movement. ... The Bush-Cheney Administration actively opposes every major policy initiative we care about—a federal nondiscrimination law, a hate crimes law, family protections, AIDS prevention, you name it. Ideology and religious zeal have replaced science as the driving force within the federal health care and research bureaucracy. And worst of all, President Bush has joined forces with the anti-gay industry, who scapegoat gay and lesbian families to promote their broader agenda of intolerance.' — National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman in an Aug. 27 press release.
