Pictured S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom. Newsom and his wife, Court TV analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, are filing for divorce after three years of marriage. Photo courtesy of GLAAD.
'Actress Portia De Rossi is having the tattoo of her ex-girlfriend's initials removed from her ring finger now that she's seeing comedienne Ellen DeGeneres.' — United Press International, Dec. 28.
'I'm sick to death of Jesus. I feel that Jesus and Paris Hilton are both overexposed. I've seen enough of both of them. And I think I'm getting more atheist because of the way the country is getting more into bible-thumping.' — Actress Kathy Griffin ( Suddenly Susan ) to Sacramento's gay Outword Magazine, Dec. 23.
'Coors Brewing gave almost every penny of their [ 2003 ] donations to Republicans in a concerted effort to, presumably, stop them icky Colorado gays from getting married and keep women in their place, all while furthering the cause of skanky undrinkable pisswater beer made for red-blooded Americans who lack taste buds and hope.' — SFGate.com columnist Mark Morford, Dec. 22.
'I am fine, really. ... I have had time to think, time to write, time to exercise, time to not eat the bad food, and time to walk and contemplate the future. I've had my work here too. Cleaning has been my job—washing, scrubbing, sweeping, vacuuming, raking leaves, and much more. But like everyone else here, I would rather be doing all of this in my own home, and not here—away from family and friends.' — Martha Stewart writing from prison on her Web site, Dec. 22.
'The DPRK [ Democratic People's Republic of Korea ] is the sole country on the earth that has no AIDS-related patient so far. ... As a medical worker I feel sure that there will not occur a case in the DPRK in the future, either. The DPRK ... encourages the population to have a noble viewpoint towards love, marriage and family, and observe a sound lifestyle. The country has neither licensed and private prostitutes nor homosexuals and drug addicts.' — Han Kyong Ho, director of the North Korean Ministry of Health's Central Hygienic and Anti-Epizootic Center, to the Pyongyang Times, in December.
'I've never for a moment thought what we did was wrong. ... My resolve has only grown stronger.' — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on his decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples last year, to Gay.com, Dec. 24.
'The notion that the president of United States, this president, could be saying that, well, maybe civil unions are not so bad, and that's a mainstream point of view, is a miracle. Twelve months ago, we were still debating domestic partnerships. Howard Dean was considered an extremist for supporting civil unions. Now everyone is rushing to endorse them.' — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to Gay.com, Dec. 24.
'I'm not even aware that I'm famous until people remind me. I wake up every single day and I have my life, and it's pretty normal. I drive myself to work, I don't get driven to work; I don't have a chef that makes me breakfast in the morning. I don't think that I'm famous until I come here and it's like, 'Oh, that's right.' Even then, this is my job.' — Ellen DeGeneres to The Advocate, Jan. 18 issue.
'Until you make that decision [ to come out ] , you can tell yourself all you want that it's nobody's business and it has nothing to do with anything— [ but ] it has everything to do with everything. Once you embrace it, then it's got nothing to do with anything.' — DeGeneres to The Advocate, Jan. 18 issue.
'I feel like things sometimes have to swing a certain way in order to swing back. You know, everybody has gone through this. Every group of people that has been discriminated has gone against these times, and it'll be fine. You can't think anything else, or else you're doomed.' — Lesbian talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres when asked by The Advocate, 'Were you surprised by the election?', in the Jan. 18 issue.
'Several of our members have lost their lives—as of this date 36 are reported. Twelve are missing, 112 have lost their houses and belongings. These are numbers that we have received so far. The coastal line which the tourists frequent is destroyed entirely. So, along with it, whatever the gay-friendly places were, were destroyed as well. Mind you, we didn't have any out and open gay/lesbian spaces, although it was accepted in tourist areas where a lot of LGB tourists from Western Europe and Scandinavian countries visit for holidays. Fortunately for the gay community, the tsunami didn't made its appearance in the evening, otherwise lots of gays cruising along the beaches would have perished.' — Sherman de Rose, executive director of the Sri Lankan gay organization Companions on a Journey, in Jan. 1 remarks to this column.
'It's amazing how the gays and lesbians responded to the calamity. Many volunteered with relief work and donated to relief programs. We have received many calls from gay/lesbian people who wanted to support the affected in any possible way. We have also received lots of requests from affected members to assist them with building their destroyed shelters. We have donated clothing, dry rations, cooked food, water and medicine.' — Sherman de Rose, executive director of the Sri Lankan gay organization Companions on a Journey, in Jan. 1 remarks to this column.
'We don't know about the effect of the tsunami on gay people in Aceh and North Sumatra. We never had any organized contact in Aceh or the island of Nias in North Sumatra, which have been hardest-hit. Medan, the major city on the eastern coast with a sizeable gay population, was spared due to its distance from the epicenter. The good news is that gay organizations are involved in fundraising and collecting donations together with other community groups.' — Dédé Oetomo, head of the Indonesian organization GAYa NUSANTARA, in Jan. 1 remarks to this column.
'Right now, the Phuket gay community is busy raising funds for those Thais and foreigners who suffered injury and loss due to the tidal wave. It will take some months to clean up and rebuild the beach area, but everything else on the island, 500 yards or more from the beach [ including the gay business district ] , is exactly as it was—untouched by the tsunami. ... If you want to help us in Patong, do not cancel your tour to Patong Beach. Now more than ever, we need your support.' — Gay guesthouse owners Ulf Mikaelsson and Börje Carlsson writing from Thailand's gay beach area, Jan. 1.