Compiled by Howard Israel
"People are created in God's image. Homosexuality is an identity adopted through societal factors. It's an identity disorder."
– Christine O'Donnell, Tea Party-backed Delaware GOP Senate nominee, in a 2006 Washington Post interview, despite having a lesbian sister, http://thinkprogress.org, Sept. 20.
"Instead of focusing in on poverty rates, homelessness, the fact that the minimum wage in Minnesota is only $5.25 an hour, or that there were two million visits to Minnesota food banks last year, the Catholic bishops in Minnesota have decided to spend the money on a DVD to send to every Catholic household in Minnesota, complaining about same-sex marriage. It's hard to see how attacking committed same-sex couples wins these Catholic bishops any broad swath of support."
– Michael A. Jones, in his commentary titled "Hey Minnesota Catholic Bishops: Focus on Poverty, Not Gay Marriage," about the coordinated anti-same-sex marriage campaign initiated by a coalition of Minnesota's Catholic bishops, http://gayrights.change.org, Sept. 17.
"The mindset of the religious sexual predator is markedly different from one operating in a secular context because of the presumption of righteous morals and a higher calling. … If the culture of compulsory heterosexuality demands that men hew to rigid gender norms, some closeted gay clergy will abuse their power by sexually abusing male parishioners. The heterosexist cult of the exalted pastor is based on the belief that 'real men' should be inscrutable in their exercise of power and authority. Thus, the religious sexual predator may rationalize his behavior as being 'ordained' by God. God confers him with ultimate authority and moral license."
– Sikivu Hutchinson, in his column titled "I Wanna Be A Macho Man: The Prosperity Gospel According to Eddie Long," about anti-gay Bishop Eddie Long facing four lawsuits by young men alleging that he coerced them into sexual relationship, http://blackagendareport.com, Sept. 29.
"We're a family-run business, we have two young, impressionable daughters and we thought maybe it was best not to do that. We have our values, and you know, some things … for instance, if someone wants a cookie with an obscenity, well, we're not going to do that."
– David Stockton, owner of Just Cookies in Indianapolis, explaining to a reporter why he refused an order for cupcakes with rainbow-colored frosting from a gay student group at Indiana University-Purdue University, to celebrate National Coming Out Day, http://www.fox59.com, Sept. 23.
"While critics of the same-sex announcement couch their argument in terms of Scripture, the newspaper contains numerous elements that can be seen as impious – like ads for non-kosher restaurants. Make no mistake about it. This is homophobia masquerading as religious piety. Pure and simple."
– David Kirshner, rabbi of a Conservative New Jersey congregation, in an article titled "Whiplash Can Follow a Car Crash or a Wedding Announcement," about the uproar following Avi Smolen and Justin Rosen's same-sex marriage announcement in the New Jersey Jewish Standard newspaper, http://www.nytimes.com, Oct. 6.
"The (Muskegan news) article profiling this incident is … actually another example of cissexism masquerading as objectivity. The reporter avoids referring to Oak's very clearly stated gender through pronouns; Oak is constantly referred to either by his first name or as 'the teen'. Alone, this would be troublesome. But especially in conjunction with pained references to Oak's prior name and surgery plans, it betrays a cissexist denial of Oak's gender as truly his on the part of the reporter."
– Rachel McCarthy James, in her blog titled "Trans student not homecoming king because of Mona Shores High School cissexism," about Muskegon teen Oak Reed, who was voted homecoming king but stripped of the title by school administrators because he's registered as a girl, http://www.deeplyproblematic.com, Sept. 27.
