"I think there's been a real level of being disingenuous on the part of the gay and lesbian community with their goal of civil unions. ... You don't go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal. That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let's go ahead and accommodate those who want to use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them. ... I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family. And always we should act in the best interest of the children, not in the seeming interest of the adults. Children are not puppies. This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?" — Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to The Perspective, a newsmagazine at The College of New Jersey, April 9.
"House Democrats have been quietly plotting how to rush through the so-called 'Employment Non-Discrimination Act' ( ENDA ) which will force every public school in America to hire transgendered teachers and forbid their re-assignment out of the classroom. ... Every state will be forced to make cross-dressers, drag queens, transsexuals, and she-males ( male-female hybrids ) into protected classes. Therefore, every school district in America will be forbidden by law to reassign any she-male teacher because this would be considered 'discrimination.' Thus, children will be trapped in classes taught by men who dress as women, and students will be indoctrinated to affirm that this is normal behavior." — Traditional Values Coalition Executive Director Andrea Lafferty writing at OneNewsNow.com, April 14. Poor thing.
" ( I'm looking forward to ) seeing this Prop. 8 generation glow and blossom. I think it's the most exciting thing that's happened to our movement since the '92 convention. I think it's a turning point, I think they are brilliant. Do you know how many young people I've had come in and talk to me? You sort of become the wise man. I haven't seen this since the civil rights movement of the '60s. This is without a doubt the most exciting development within the last two decades for our community." — Veteran activist David Mixner to the Advocate, April 12.
"CNN's ( Anderson ) Cooper threw himself full-force into covering January's Haitian earthquake with his usual journalistic rigor, but the sheer scope of the disaster soon revealed a tender side to the steely news anchor that sparked tabloid rumors ( quickly dispelled ) that he and his companion, New York club owner Benjamin Maisani, were adopting a Haitian child." — Out magazine April 15 naming Anderson Cooper the third-most-influential gay man or lesbian in America, in the publication's annual "Power 50" list.
"His ( Obama's ) not being for it will give people an excuse to not vote for it. ... At this point, the president's refusal to call for repeal ( of Don't Ask, Don't Tell ) this year is a problem. ... I'm frustrated. I'm disappointed with the administration, in part." — Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to lgbtpov.com, April 12.
"Obama told us at the HRC dinner last year, you need to put pressure on me. I was there at that dinner, in uniform. So this is my mission; the president said to pressure him and I heard that as a warning order." — Don't Ask, Don't Tell activist Lt. Dan Choi to Newsweek, March 22. He was arrested March 18 after handcuffing himself to the White House fence.
"When I was a child I asked my mother what homosexuality was about and she said—and this was 100 years ago in Germany and she was very open-minded—'It's like hair color. It's nothing. Some people are blond and some people have dark hair. It's not a subject.' This was a very healthy attitude." — Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld to Vice magazine, March issue.
"Acting, while it is a fine profession, isn't really an important thing to do with your life compared to what you can do to advance acceptance and equality in society." — Portia de Rossi, Ellen's wife, at the Human Rights Campaign's Los Angeles Hero Awards Dinner, March 14, as transcribed by lgbtpov.com .
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
