"I am gay. And, uh, so, I, uh, I, um, those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long. But I am gay. It is something that is personal, and I don't believeI felt with my heart that ityou know, being gaydid not affect, wouldn't affect how I do my job. ... What happened, through my own actions the other night, changed all that." California state Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, on March 8, five days after he was arrested and charged with drunk driving after leaving a Sacramento gay bar, to KERN radio. Ashburn has a 98 percent anti-gay voting record.
"I'm not so interested in the detestable Roy Ashburn and his pathetic defense of 'I was voting the way my constituents wanted.' Because to my mind, the biggest story here isn't Ashburn's closeted homosexuality and anti-gay voting record. As we all know, that is a story we have seen a hundred times. And will see a hundred times more. The REAL story here is the media's collusion and the conspiracy of silence on the part of our own people. Folks, when you know somebody is actively working day and night to thwart the rights of your FAMILY, of your PEOPLE, you fucking say something." Blogger Joe Jervis ( Joe. My. God. ) , March 5. California state Sen. Roy Ashburn, who has a horrible anti-gay voting record, was arrested and charged with DUI March 3 after leaving a Sacramento gay bar. It later emerged that news reporters and Sacramento gay bargoers knew Ashburn was gay and had kept his secret for him. On March 8, Ashburn came out of the closet but said he will continue to vote against gays.
"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Singer Ricky Martin in a post on his Web site, March 29.
"Many people told me: 'Ricky it's not important,' 'it's not worth it,' 'all the years you've worked and everything you've built will collapse,' 'many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature.' Because all this advice came from people who I love dearly, I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth. Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions." Singer Ricky Martin in a coming-out post on his Web site, March 29.
"When someone like Ricky Martin comes out, hundreds of millions of people now have a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay. His decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in the U.S., in Latin America and worldwide." Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation President Jarrett Barrios, March 29.
"People who express indifference or hostility to Ricky Martin coming out need to step out of their jaded, cynical gay world for a second and realize what a huge impact this has for Latin America." Gay news blogger Andy Towle ( Towleroad.com ) on his Facebook page, March 30.
"Congratulations ( to ) Ricky Martin for telling everyone the obviousnow here's an important questiondo you regret performing at George W. Bush's inauguration in 2004 after he used gay people as a political punching bag in the election and demeaned us with the Federal Marriage Amendment?" New York City activist Corey Johnson on his Facebook page, March 30.
"I never have had a problem saying who I am. I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never." Actor Sean Hayes, who played Jack on Will & Grace, to the Advocate, April issue.
"Doing a sitcom, it's a machine, it's a factory. There's nothing creative about it for an actor. There's nothing new I'm going to discover for a character in episode 185. It's just a pure punch-in, punch-out factory day joband it's a wonderful factory day jobbut creatively it's stifling." Actor Sean Hayes, who played Jack on Will & Grace, in a coming-out interview in the April issue of the Advocate.
"She's certainly a lot gayer than I am." Andrew Sullivan on comedian and gay activist Kathy Griffin, on his blog, March 17.
Assistance: Bill Kelley