compiled by Howard Israel
"Two years ago, on the way to school, I noticed a piece of duct tape stuck to one child's shirt. I dropped them off at their school and said goodbye and asked about the tape. He didn't reply, but handed me a piece of paper and then stuck the tape on his mouth and walked away. I looked down and read: "What is the Day of Silence?" The entire page was filled with facts to explain to teachers why he wasn't talkin'. And, there was my kid, standing up and shouting silently."
– Lori Hahn, 40-something mom to three adopted teenagers, three adopted Collies, a large extended adopted family and whatever kid in the neighborhood might need a back-up mom, in her blog titled "Day of Silence 2010," http://www.ourbiggayborhood.com, April 16.
"No homo Mayor"
– A sign posted outside the Dove World Outreach Center, a Gainesville, Fla. church, referring to mayoral candidate Craig Lowe, a city commissioner who is gay and came in first in the city's preliminary elections and may win the runoff, http://citylimits.blogs.gainesville.com, April 2.
"Many of us are, at heart, assimilationists who want to fit in with the most traditional structures. Think marriage and the prom! Those gay and lesbian teens who demand to attend their proms are radical and traditional at the same time, as are those seeking marriage equality. It's that scary incursion of the outlandish into 'safe' structures that explains, at least in part, the sometimes vicious resistance we find. The other part of this fight for equality has to do with the government's role in the discrimination. Many of the most important achievements of both the civil rights and women's movements were ending government-sponsored discrimination in voting, unfair marriage laws and segregated public facilities and schools. If government is willing to declare that members of a group are second-class citizens, then private and social discrimination is fair game."
– John Culhane, Professor of Law, Widener University, in his column titled "Why do gays and lesbians care about marriage?," http://www.365gay.com, April 8.
"It's ludicrous to claim that these hundreds of once-trusting, devout Catholics are somehow conspiring to hurt the world's most powerful religious figure. The (victims abused by priests) are doing what we in the U.S. are doing – making children safer, inside and outside of the church. They are doing what every crime victim should do – speaking up, time and time and time again, until criminals are caught and kids are safeguarded. They do not deserve to be attacked and insulted. The ill-advised remarks of top Catholic officials – in Rome and elsewhere – are rubbing salt into the already deep wounds of disillusioned and abused Catholics. We beg the Pope, and the church hierarchy, to think first of the vulnerable and the suffering, not of themselves."
– Mary Guentner, survivor of childhood sexual abuse by a nun, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in a press release about recent defensive, homophobic statements by top Catholic Church officials, http://www.snapnetwork.org, March 29.
"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?"
– Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential candidate, in an interview for the College of New Jersey, affirming his support for an Arkansas law that prohibits same-sex couples from becoming adoptive or foster parents, http://tcnjperspective.wordpress.com, April 9. The law was shot down April 16 by a district judge.
"I prefer dogs to gaybees. And I suspect I'm not alone, even among our heterosexual audience (both of them!). Kids are sooo high maintenance; it's always about them. I don't care if you can match their clothes to the furniture, they still whine to no end if they're not fed three or more times a day. That seems like an unhealthy sort of relationship. You can put dogs on a leash, or in a crate, without getting those meddling calls from Child Protective Services. Dogs don't need baths as often as kids – maybe a few times a year versus a few times a month. Unlike children, dogs are always glad when you come home early. You can give dogs precious little names like Lady Diana Spencer or Harvey Furstein without them hating you for it when they grow up."
– Chris Hemming, in his blog titled "The Other Man in My Life," about his much-loved, Alfie, http://www.ourbiggayborhood.com, April 7.
"It's just one more indication of an administration that is catering to liberal special interests. I think it has the potential to be a very toxic combination for Democrats at the polls in November."
– Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, in an article titled "In Hospital Decision, Obama Finds Safe Ground on Gay Rights," about President Obama's order to almost all hospitals in the nation to grant visitation rights and medical powers of attorney to gay and lesbian couples, http://www.nytimes.com, April 16.
