Compiled by Howard Israel
"I don't care who anybody sleeps with. If a couple has been together all that time – and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones – I think it's fine if they want to get married. I don't know how people can get so anti-something. Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don't worry about other people so much."
– Betty White, 88 year-old actress, in an interview, commenting on same-sex marriage, Parade magazine http://www.parade.com, Oct. 31.
"One of the reasons I wanted to create Coco was so that I could celebrate the very things I was taught to hate about myself so that future generations of gay kids wouldn't have to go through what I went through. In fact, my heart has soared more than a few times when I've gotten emails from teenagers, and one eleven-year-old boy, who have thanked me for being 'out' and inspiring them to be themselves. However, today my heart sinks that these young people who fell through the cracks."
– Miss Coco Peru; in her blog about the bullying she experienced in her youth, http://www.misscocoperu.com, Sept. 30.
"Forty-three percent of Americans say the messages coming from places of worship are negative, and 4-in-10 Americans believe that these messages contribute 'a lot' to negative perceptions of gay and lesbian people. One-third (33%) of the public also believe that messages from religious bodies are contributing 'a lot' to higher rates of suicide among gay and lesbian youth, and another third (32%) say these message contribute 'a little;' only 21% say they do not contribute at all."
– Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO, Public Religion Research Institute about a survey conducted by PRRI and Religion News Service, in a press release, based on telephone interviews conducted between Oct. 14-17, 2010 by professional interviewers among a random sample of 1,010 adults 18 years or older, http://www.publicreligion.org, Oct. 21.
"There are two myths: one, that all LGBTQ youth are on the verge of committing suicide or taking drugs, which isn't the case, or the other that we've come so far in creating a better environment for LGBT youth that everything is OK now. The reality is that teen suicides affect LGBT youth disproportionately, and we can't remain silent. And yes, things are better, but it's still hard to be a sexual minority young person in a high school or college setting."
– Cindy Crane, executive director, Madison, WI-based statewide organization "GSA for Safe Schools," in an article titled "Suicides prompt activism," http://www.wisconsingazette.com, Oct. 20.
"I could not bear the burden of living as a gay man of color in a world grown cold and hateful towards those of us who live and love differently than the so-called 'social mainstream' "
– Joseph Jefferson, 26-year-old gay youth activist in the people of color community, and HIV/AIDS educator, in a message on Facebook, before hanging himself, http://www.autostraddle.com, Oct. 25. Jefferson is reportedly the third Black LGBT youth to commit suicide in a three week period.
