Compiled by Howard Israel
"Karl Rove is an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, citing '5,000 years of understanding the institution of marriage' as his justification. He also famously engineered multiple referenda to incorporate a ban on same-sex marriage into various states' constitutions in 2004 in order to ensure that so-called 'Christian conservatives' and 'value voters' who believe in 'traditional marriage laws' would turn out and help re-elect George W. Bush. Yet, like so many of his like-minded pious comrades, Rove seems far better at preaching the virtues of 'traditional marriage' to others and exploiting them for political gain than he does adhering to those principles in his own life. Rove was granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage. Texas' 'no-fault' divorce law, one of the most permissive in the nation, basically allows any married couple to simply end their marriage because they feel like it. They're willing to limit other people's marriage choices on moral grounds, but not their own, and thus have a law that lets them divorce whenever the mood strikes."
– Glenn Greenwald in an column titled "Karl Rove: Champion of 'traditional' divorce," about Rove's hypocrisy, http://www.salon.com/opinion, Dec. 29.
Lesbian bros bump fists and knock back beers and yell "BROOOOO" loudly at each other across vast spaces. Hugging is OK, though bear hugs are preferred. They talk about their problems and are allowed to have feelings, because nothing brings lesbian bros together more than the shared bond of secretly having emotions. Perhaps most importantly though, lesbian bros scope out girls. We use words like 'chicks' and 'score' facetiously. Mostly. We like to pretend that we're cheekily mocking straight male culture and their objectification of women, but really, we like to look at girls, too. Sexual conquest is celebrated in brohood, though perhaps in a softer, more respectful way. Because, y'know, we're lesbians. … Lesbian bromance is beautiful in its simplicity. It's a friendship, just a friendship and nothing more. It's secure in its lack of sexual tension and questioning of motives. It embraces sexuality and spits standards of femininity back in society's face."
– Katrina, in a post titled "Lesbian Bromance is Here," about the close, non-sexual relationships between two lesbians that imitate straight male culture through the lens of lesbian culture, http://www.autostraddle.com, Sept. 24.
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."
– Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, fearless human rights activist, anti-apartheid opponent, uses his status to speak to issues of oppression including poverty, racism, AIDS and homophobia, http://www.peacebypeace.com, Nov. 2.
"Think about those numbers; think about the power of the Salvation Army. It is a massive Christian evangelical organization – with a quasi-military structure and raising $2 billion a year – and it promotes discrimination against gays and lesbians in its employment policy; at local levels of government, going so far as to threaten to close soup kitchens in New York if the city enacted domestic partnership legislation; and at the national level of government, including negotiating with the Bush administration to guarantee that faith-based groups could discriminate against gays and keep their federal funding. We can find charities more deserving of our dollars and our volunteer time. There are many other organizations performing the same work as the Salvation Army that do not discriminate against gays and lesbians, that will not use your donation against you."
– Lisa Neff, in her column titled "No gay change for the Salvation Army," http://www.365gay.com, Dec. 21.
"As a straight man I really have nothing to gain by standing up for equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexual, and/or my transgender friends. Except for the fact that I have many friends who are still subjected to hurtful comments by a society that hasn't yet embraced fully the nature of … nature. Supporting a limiting system of rules for specific people to follow is prejudice. Allowing love to freely flourish will only enhance the life experience – for all. Hosting closed-minded thoughts or making lewd comments about the intimate affairs of someone else does not make life great. Life is too short. The age of interfering with someone's natural rights (and natural born gifts) is over."
– Jason Mraz, pop singer, in his blog titled "With Liberty And Equality for All," http://freshnessfactorfivethousand.blogspot.com, Dec. 31.
"Our first-grader astonished her father at the end of the past school year as he dropped her off at our local Washington, D.C. public school. She relayed to him that her teacher announced her impending marriage – to another woman – to the class. Following her revelation, this teacher encouraged questions from the children. Our daughter also mentioned a book the teacher read aloud, 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' about two male 'gay' guinea pigs… . Since homosexual activists cannot reproduce their own children, recruitment to their cause (especially at a young age, before parents have raised such sensitive and controversial topics with their children) is essential to the political agenda of promoting homosexuality and 'gay' marriage."
– Margaret C. Hemenway, identifying herself as a Washington, D.C. public schools parent on the Parents and Friends Of Ex-gays Web site, alleges to have filed a complaint against her daughter's teacher over child's loss of her "sense of innocence" because of the announcement, http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com, Dec. 15.
