Compiled by Howard Israel
"Growing up in Wasilla… I've never seen a gay guy in Wasilla, I don't think. Once I started doing all these tours and everything… I just.. you know, they're people too. It doesn't matter to me, more fans, it's great."
– Levi Johnston, the 19-year-old father of Sarah Palin's grandson, asked by Joy Behar on the Joy Behar Show about his being a "gay icon," http://www.huffingtonpost.com, Dec. 7.
"Like so many of life's moral quandaries, I put this one in the hands of the Lord: Jesus never even mentioned homosexuals or homosexual behavior – rightfully knowing that we would all assume that he felt being gay was a mortal sin, even if he never, y'know, said anything. But He clearly stated that divorce is a sin: 'What God has joined together, let no man separate.' So while it is obvious that being gay is sinful, it appears that Jesus felt that getting divorced was an even larger sin. On that basis, I think gay people who happened to get legally married will have no choice but to remain married forever. But since being gay is also sinful, I think that 'married' homosexual couples should sleep in separate beds and refrain from having sex – just like real married couples. Equality at last."
– John Marcotte, 38-year-old married father of two and creator of http://www.rescuemarriage.org, a satirical Web site to further protect traditional marriage that has become a movement to ban divorce in California. Marcotte has until March 22, 2010, to collect 694,354 signatures of registered voters in order to get the measure on the ballot next year. The proposal, "2010 California Marriage Protection Act," would change the California Constitution to "eliminate the ability of married couples to get divorced in California."
"I can imagine few other countries on Earth where someone like me could serve in this role. My grandfather was an immigrant coal miner; my father was a meat cutter. I was sworn in today standing next to my spouse who happens to be a different race and of the same gender as I am. In America, such a trajectory is not only possible, it is natural."
– David Huebner, the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, in remarks delivered at his swearing in ceremony, attended by Dr. Duane McWaine, his partner of 20 years and a psychiatrist, the mothers of Huebner and McWaine, and Vice President Joe Biden, http://www.metroweekly.com, Dec. 4.
"This isn't a product about controversy. It isn't a product designed to shock, by any means. The game is designed to celebrate player choice and create a story that is reactive to the way you choose to play it. The key to creating a believable game experience is telling a good story. Among the tools that we have as storytellers, I see romance as being one of the principal ones. The criticisms of the gay scene in the game are not coming from its customers. People who have played the game are very happy with the experience that they've been having. If players are happy with the experience, I think we've done our job."
– Mike Laidlaw, the lead designer of the recently-released video role-playing game, "Dragon Age: Origins," in an article titled "New Video Game: Dungeons, Dragons and Now Gay Sex," about the criticism from social conservatives over the inclusion of the possible romantic and sexual liaison between male role players and a male elf named Zevran, http://www.nytimes.com, Dec. 5.
"When I was 18, I made the decision to attend a university to be near my then-16-year-old boyfriend. In the years to follow, I often laughed at the stupidity of selecting a school because of a relationship. But some eight year later, I've had a recent change of heart. I think I made a wise choice; I prioritized love. We tell students that school should be their top priority, above everything and anything. However, if you removed school from a student's life, she'd likely do just fine. If, on the other hand, you removed love from her life, her whole world would crumble. I live for love, and my various expressions thereof. Some people think it's silly to follow your heart, but I think it's silly not to."
– Davey Wavey, from his blog titled "Change of heart: Living for love!," http://www.breaktheillusion.com, Dec. 2.
"Anyone who mentions 'sacred unions' in this debate is surely not talking about the same marriage I am. When I say marriage I mean the civil contract two adults enter into, sanctioned by their state government, agreeing to take on each other's obligations in return for certain benefits. There's nothing sacred about that civil contract; nobody at the clerk's office will ask about the Bible, or a commitment to raise children, or any of the straw-man issues the anti-marriage crowd waves around. Over 18 and not married to anyone else? You're done, you're married. Next! Clearly we need two different words – one for the sacred unions that can be blessed in churches, mosques, synagogues or wherever else people apply non-civil criteria to marriage, and another for the civil contract. This debate is going nowhere as long as we're talking about two different things with one word. Keep your sacred unions in your churches, and let me have my civil marriage."
– Roseann Foley Henry, in a letter to the editor, about the New York State Senate's vote against the same sex marriage bill, http://www.nytimes.com, Dec. 3.
