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S/he said: Census, Uganda and Ewan McGregor

compiled by Howard Israel

"The initial anti-marriage activists, indeed the folks who brought out-of-state Mormons in on the fight, were members of the Catholic hierarchy. And now Catholic apologists are similarly objecting that it's so unfair, that child abuse occurs in all sectors of society. Well, yeah, but when you have a whole bunch of pedophile priests bonking boys by the choirload, then being protectively shuttled from parish to parish, well, you got yourselves not just pervasive criminal behavior – one with real, verifiable victims – but something of a public relations disaster. And Pope Benedict has the gall to proclaim that gays are 'objectively disordered?' In the words of that martyr to masturbation, the immortal Pee-wee Herman, 'I know you are, but what am I?'"
– Simon Sheppard, in his blog titled "Poor Little Monsters," about the "culture of victimization" displayed by stringent anti-gay bullies and moralists, http://carnalnation.com, April 12.

"I am glad that so many political, religious and civic leaders in Uganda and around the world have spoken out against this hateful and dangerous bill before the Ugandan Parliament. Sadly, this legislation is just one example of actions taken around the world to restrict the rights of people just because of their gender or sexual orientation. We need to speak out consistently against all such discrimination."
– Russ Feingold, (D-Wisc.) chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, in a press release about the unanimous passage of a Senate resolution condemning the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, http://feingold.senate.gov, April 14.

"Social change usually occurs in incremental steps, and this week – census week – offers encouraging word that gay and lesbian couples who share a home can describe themselves on the forms as husbands or wives. It is a small step. But it does mark the first time in the 220-year-history of the decennial count that gay and lesbian couples can use a census form to describe in more honest terms how they view their families. … In the years ahead, the census should do a better job of reflecting gays and lesbians to provide more information about aging, health care and other matters. For now, census recognition of these couples is welcome acknowledgment from the government. It is about time."
– In an editorial titled "Gays and the census: an honest view of American families," about gay and lesbians living in the same household being identified on the 2010 census form, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com, April 1.

"Sylvester would be delighted to finally see the two non-profits, San Francisco's AIDS Emergency Fund and Project Open Hand, benefiting from his work. Sylvester would say it was fabulous and he would go have a great time. He would be really pleased his idea worked. It is very unusual for artists or writers to give the entirety of their estate to organizations that really need it."
– Mike Smith, executive director of the AIDS Emergency Fund, in an article titled "Sylvester songs profit local AIDS agencies," about Sue Sylvester, 1970s Queen of Disco, who bequeathed his estate to AIDS organizations, Bay Area Reporter http://ebar.com, April 15.

"The great sham of the gay movement is that it is trying to convince the hetero society that we are just like them. Sure, there are many gay men and women living boring lives in the suburbs trying to raise some babies, but still, we are not like them. We will never be like them, and trying to hide it is only going to make them suspect us and hate us even more. The great sham is that hetero society is still in denial that they are fundamentally every bit as outlandish and ridiculous and hormonal as the 'faggiest of the tribe.'"
– Grace Chu, in her blog titled "What's the Key to the Gay Rights Movement? Straight Liberation.," http://gracethespot.com, April 14.

"I'm very keen that it's a gay movie. There was quite a lot of talk at Sundance that 'Well, it's not a gay movie. It's a film about guys who happen to be gay.' And I was thinking, it's nothing but a gay movie. It's about a gay couple, about a man's sexuality, and he comes out. It's not the point of the film, but let's not pretend it's not a gay film."
– Ewan McGregor, in an interview titled "Ewan McGregor: Filthy and Gorgeous," about his upcoming movie "I Love You Phillip Morris," co-staring Jim Carrey, http://www.out.com/, April 14.

"Back then, transmitting the disease to an unknowing sexual partner was considered tantamount to murder. These statutes are still on the books, but the science behind them has changed radically. People do still die of AIDS in the United States – the death rate, after plummeting in the late 1990s, has remained constant at about 16,000 per year. But for a person infected in 2009 to die of AIDS in the future would probably require a substantial amount of bad judgment or bad luck… . Were it a matter of science alone, all those AIDS statutes could be rescinded tomorrow. But the science was only a small part of the panic that created them. And effective treatment has not altered the rest of that potent emotional brew: the virus still sows terror, uncertainty, shame and endless complications, whether the infection is concealed or revealed."
– Abigail Zuger, M.D., in an editorial titled "With AIDS, Time to Get Beyond Blame,"http://www.nytimes.com, April 19.

"LGBT+ is an affinity group of people who have things in common. A community of people who are bound by what is similar, not what is different. And the overwhelming similarity that they all have is not just that they are all human beings, but that they are human beings who are treated as second and third and fourth class citizens, who are actively denied their rights, and who are interconnected and dependent on each other in the country because the country as a whole doesn't see the differences and doesn't care to see the differences."
– Antonia D'orsay, in her blog titled "The Unasked Question," about ENDA and the question: "Should trans folk be part of the same thing that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are part of?," http://www.dyssonance.com, April 16.

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Topics: Opinions
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