Pictured Tony Valenzuela. Photo by Rex Wockner
' [ T ] orching the glass pipe in front of the computer till the shards of meth liquefied and rose in white smoke, inhaling deeply, awaking tiny ghosts to come and erase the day. Then the unending jolt of vitality, fixating intensely on the hundreds upon hundreds of men's naked pictures and profiles online, for hours, till the sun came up and then fell and rose again, and in the midst, sex in a bedroom, in a living room, at a bathhouse. And always, in the bulldozing moment, it was as if one's history never existed and future is postponed by this supersonic present tense.' — Tony Valenzuela describing his crystal-meth use in the LA Weekly newspaper, June 10.
'I think I've gone to a gay bar about 10 times in my whole life. It just wasn't my scene.' — Tennis champ Martina Navratilova to The Out Traveler magazine, July/August issue.
'Fifteen. All in my house. ... I've rescued most of those dogs from the pound!' —Tennis champ Martina Navratilova when asked how many dogs she has by The Out Traveler magazine, July/August issue.
'I was never really in the closet. I had a fear early on that, you know, people wouldn't like me once they really got to understand where I was going with my life, but I was never in the closet. People outed me from the time I was a young child.' — RuPaul to the Baltimore newspaper GAYLIFE, June 10.
'It seems like things are fine because we have Will & Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Everything looks really great. But it's not. The Religious Right has fear on their side, and unfortunately, that tactic works.' — RuPaul to the Baltimore newspaper GAYLIFE, June 10.
'Today it's very popular to be a part of the status quo. We've seen that with the resurgence of the bimbo. People like Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears, who have no opinion whatsoever—no opinion about women's rights or gay rights or whatever. We're living in a very, very dangerous time.' — RuPaul.
'Stonewall Wasn't Sponsored by Budweiser.' — Sign carried by a Queer Revolution protester at the Portland, Ore., gay-pride parade June 19. According to the Portland Independent Media Center, 'Queer Revolution and the Dyke March crashed the corporate-sponsored Gay Pride Parade.'
'I'm usually tolerant of others but have nothing in common with twinky little hairless androgynous sissy boys. I'm not into shopping unless its Tractor Supply, Home Depot or AutoZone.' — From a BigMuscleBears.com user profile, June 20.
'Guess which one is trying to recruit people.' — Jon Stewart of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, speaking about the fact that the 'final' Billy Graham religious crusade and the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade were on the same day in New York City.
'I am shocked and deeply, deeply fearful about the direct impact [ Supreme Court ] Justice [ Sandra Day ] O'Connor's retirement will have on each of our lives. Despite her very conservative philosophy, she has been a powerful swing vote on critical reproductive, women's and LGBT issues. Along with Justice Rehnquist's expected retirement, the Bush Administration has the chance to swing the Court severely to the right—a development from which I do not believe we will ever be able to recover. If we do not block Bush from swinging the Court forever to the right, and rolling back all that we have worked so hard on for over 50 years, the result of today will be felt around the world.' — Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
'This is a sad day for the Supreme Court and for America. Justice O'Connor has frequently been an essential vote and voice of reason in crucial decisions involving basic constitutional rights. We call upon President Bush not to capitulate to the demands of extremists, and nominate a successor who will—like Justice O'Connor—be driven by the law, not reactionary ideology. We also call upon the president to honor the advice and consent role the Constitution gives the Senate in the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court nominees, including meaningful consultation with both parties and supporting a thoughtful, deliberate and thorough review of the nominee's record.' — Matt Foreman, executive director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
'Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has a long and distinguished record as a consensus builder in a closely divided court. Justice O'Connor's retirement is a clarion call to every American that our rights are in grave danger. The loss of Justice O'Connor's moderate voice is a serious threat to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, to women's rights and to protections for racial, ethnic and religious minorities. We must all come together to fight for a replacement who follows in the Justice's tradition. During her time on the court, Justice O'Connor became an increasingly supportive of equal rights for all Americans. Her concurring opinion in Lawrence v. Texas recognized the basic equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people under law. In opinions in First Amendment cases she protected the constitutional wall between church and state. Justice O'Connor also voted to uphold the right to choose and to preserve universities' right to promote diversity. The retirement of this mainstream and fair-minded Justice leaves a void on a court that is so closely divided. We need a nominee that all Americans can rally behind. As President Bush and the U.S. Senate consider a replacement on the bench, they should abandon partisanship and seek consensus on a nominee who will protect every American fairly.' — Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
