Pictured FAB! columnist Paulo Murillo. Photo by Rex Wockner 'We never set out to change minds and attitudes. We set out to make a romantic comedy with an insurmountable obstacle. I think you set out to write about themes and ideas or to express a political point and your characters die on the page.' — Will & Grace co-creator and Executive Producer David Kohan to the Associated Press, July 21.
'Sexual orientation discrimination is wrong, whether or not we're gay from birth or have to attend correspondence school to get a degree in deviance.' — Syndicated journalist Ann Rostow in the L.A. gay newspaper FAB!, July 29.
'Craigslist strikes me as The Penny Saver of online connections. Where else can you shop for a blowjob while shopping for a used refrigerator? You have better chances for Grade A quality cock standing on a corner by the People's Bank Building.' — Columnist Paulo Murillo in the L.A. gay newspaper FAB!, July 29.
'I'm taller than he is and I'm in better shape than he is.' — Openly gay Calif. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at a gay-pride rally in San Diego, July 29.
'A sleeping giant has been awoken by Canada's debate about same-sex civil marriage rights: the Christian right. Their engagement in the political arena threatens to change a lot in Canadian politics over the next generation. Perhaps—if we don't figure out how to deal with this—this emerging religious extremism will wreak the same havoc upon civil debate in this country as in the U.S., where religious extremists hijacked the Republican party and re-wrote the nation's agenda in biblical terms.' — Gareth Kirkby, managing editor of the Ottawa, Ontario, gay newspaper Capital Xtra!, writing in the July 14 issue.
'I know that it has significance for our LGBT community, so it is something that I take seriously. I think it's a huge responsibility, so I'm very much aware of it and I hope that it's a good thing for our community. ... It's an opportunity for our community to show that we really are engaged and active and can step up to the plate and do these kinds of things when called upon and when needed.' — Lesbian San Diego Mayor Toni Atkins, who was appointed to the job by other city councilmembers July 19 after Mayor Dick Murphy resigned due to a pension-funding debacle and Deputy Mayor Michael Zucchet was convicted of taking bribes and quit. Atkins spoke to this column July 24.
' [ T ] he LGBT community and our issues are changing in relatively rapid fashion. Recent surveys show that younger Americans in their teens and 20s overwhelmingly favor equal treatment for LGBT people in housing, employment, and, yes, even marriage. As Bob Dylan wrote and sang, 'For the times they are a changin'.'' — Openly lesbian San Diego Mayor Toni Atkins writing in the Gay & Lesbian Times, July 28.
'I've considered myself pretty out since about 1999 but I thought this was an occasion to put any questions to rest. ... In my life since 1999 I've been very honest and open about who I am—and it's certainly not everything I am, but it's an important part of who I am, and certainly if Pride isn't the venue to be overtly out, I don't know what is. ... It's something that I'm very comfortable with and something that I'm very matter-of-fact about, and I think that's what you saw here tonight.' — Chula Vista, Calif., Mayor Steve Padilla to this column after coming out at a gay-pride rally in San Diego, July 29. Chula Vista—a San Diego suburb with 230,000 people—is now the second-largest city in America with an openly gay mayor, after San Diego itself. Providence, R.I., is next in line.
'This extreme measure is nothing short of a nuclear weapon being launched at lesbian and gay Californians. It would totally wipe out all existing legal protections for legally recognized domestic partners and their children.' — Geoffrey Kors, head of Equality California, as signature gathering began last week on a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and eradicate California's comprehensive domestic-partnership law, which grants all state-level rights of matrimony to registered same-sex couples.
'It's not about gay marriage—it's about marriage equality. It's about, are all citizens in this country equal and first class, or are we not? That's the frame that should be established, and we need national leaders to do that for us. Unfortunately we're not seeing that right now.' — Openly gay California Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, to San Diego CityBEAT, July 27.
'It is so important for us to be out and proud in our lives in every way possible. That, probably more than any other act, helps to move public opinion in our direction.' — Openly gay California Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, to San Diego CityBEAT.
'I have seen a lot of them [ drag queens doing me ] . There were seven at one time in Las Vegas. Why are they all me? I wonder if I have a glandular imbalance that nobody wants to tell me about. They have five o'clock shadows, and I wish they would shave better. Some of them in Las Vegas don't look female. I look at them and I think, 'Who's that they're doing?' I went to one with George Burns, and he laughed his head off, and he said, 'Carol, it's just like you.' Isn't that awful?' — Actress/singer Carol Channing to SHOUT Magazine in Austin, July 21.
