Pictured Maya Keyes with Matthew Shepard's mother, Judy. Photo by Patsy Lynch. Bernadette Peters
'I'm not going to kick gays, because I'm a sinner. How can I differentiate sin? ... I think it is bad for Republicans to be kicking gays.' — President George W. Bush in private conversations with a friend who secretly tape-recorded them between 1998 and 2000. The New York Times published excerpts from the tapes Feb. 20.
'Nancy Reagan supports stem-cell research after her Ronnie gets sick. Dick Cheney opposes the gay-marriage ban after his daughter comes out. Rush Limbaugh is suddenly an advocate of treatment—not prison—for people addicted to narcotics. Oh, I almost forgot: The epiphany comes while Rush is being investigated for drugs. The list goes on and on: prominent conservative figures, forced to question some sweeping social principle, after being rudely interrupted by the messy realities of life. Ain't personal experience just the worst?' — Columnist Ellis Henican writing in New York's Newsday, Feb. 13.
'My parents have known I was queer for a couple of years now. They were in denial about it. They thought I was just queer in a phase. And after a while they said, we can't support the decisions you're making. It's not just that I was queer that was a problem, but that I was willing to talk about it.' — Maya Keyes to BuzzFlash.com Feb. 16 after her father, former presidential and senatorial candidate Alan Keyes, kicked her out of the house and cut off her college tuition because she's an open lesbian. Maya is currently staying with folks from PFLAG, keeping some possessions at a friend's house, and using library computers to get online and update her blog.
'I'm always shocked that gay marriage is such a big deal. You have to realize how precious human life is, when there are tsunamis and mudslides, when there are armies and terrorists—at any moment, you could be gone, and potentially in the most brutal fashion. And then you have to realize that love is truly one of the most extraordinary things you can experience in your life. To begrudge someone else their love of another person because of gender seems to me absolutely absurd. It's based in fear, fear of the other, fear of what is not like you. But when you are able to see lives on a day-to-day basis, rather than reducing it to politics, then it humanizes a whole community of people that were otherwise invisible. I think pop culture is really helpful in letting people see another side of life.' — The L Word's Jennifer Beals to the Associated Press, Feb. 15.
'Whether you like it or not, this door will never be shut again. Gay marriage is going to be legalized in the United States of America. It is a matter of time. Mark my words.' — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaking at Harvard University Feb. 8.
'It is no longer acceptable for politicians to come to you every election cycle and ask for money and then say, 'It's [ same-sex marriage ] too much, too soon.' ... I've never felt a greater sense of purpose but beyond anything else, an obligation to finish this job. We will not back up. I have no regrets. ... Don't give up the fight. Don't feel discouraged. Don't listen to the president of the United States. ... Shame on you, George Bush.' — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaking at a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of San Francisco's same-sex wedding spree, Feb. 12.
'I guess I have something in common with the right-wingers of the world. I have no interest in hairy-man-ass sex. But the difference is that I don't ask that my opinion be made into the law, you see, that's the fundamental difference. And that's what tolerance means. It means: 'OK, what you're doing is completely not my cup of tea, but please enjoy! Because you're another type of person, and I wouldn't want you to tell me that I can't do something that you don't find attractive or interesting or compelling.'' — TV talk-show host Bill Maher to The Advocate, Feb. 15.
'I really don't know any straight men who aren't in show business that have ever watched the Oscars.' — Academy Awards host Chris Rock on NBC's The Tonight Show, Feb. 21.
'I want to do an album. I want to do a movie. I want to do a TV special. I want to direct. I want to get up onstage at Carnegie Hall in a simple gown and sing standards.' — Cher, telling the New York Post Feb. 3 that her 325th and final farewell concert will take place April 30 at the Hollywood Bowl.
'Basically I've always been a slut and always will be. The man who tames my heart will probably be the undertaker who nails my coffin shut, because then there'll be no more dropped pants for me.' — Gay singer Jimmy Somerville to the British AIDS magazine Positive Nation, February issue.
'The gay people in my life have all been such a positive influence in my life, and I'm a liberal guy. Well, I'm a conservative, but I'm a liberal guy when it comes to that.' — Former pro wrestler The Rock ( Dwayne Johnson ) to Out magazine, March issue.
'If I'm in a small club, I know if there are gay people around, they're going to come. That's a wonderful thing. It's also a lot of fun. I think the heart and emotions are very deep in gay people and that's always very rewarding for a performer. I wonder if that's going to change now that things are becoming more accepted—you know what I mean?' — Bernadette Peters to the Miami gay newspaper The Weekly News, Jan. 27.