Compiled by Howard Israel
S/he Said
"I think that the appropriate liberal response to such things as the Anthony Weiner 'scandal' … is a shrug: 'So they're human – big deal.' When someone is hypocritical, we should decry that hypocrisy (and that hypocrisy is my only criticism when it comes to the Republican sex 'scandals'). But otherwise, I think it is incumbent upon us to speak truth in a world that doesn't really care so much about truth as it does about creating a sensation … I hope that in time everyone can be more like gay men: accepting of sex, indulgent of indiscretion, and aware that the previous two traits are at once integral to who we are and completely unrelated to the other things we seek to accomplish during this brief sojourn we call life."
-wecandoit7, in his blog titled "A Gay Man's Perspective on Anthony Weiner," about the New York Congressman's online sexual exchanges with young women, dailykos.com, June 8.
"What happened was that the gay community changed their perspective as to what they wanted. When I ran for governor, one of the big issues was marriage, gay marriage. My opponent said she'd sign a bill in favor of gay marriage. I said I would not, that I oppose same-sex marriage. At the same time, I would advance the – the, if you will, the efforts not to discriminate against people who are gay."
-Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate, in an interview, when asked which gay rights he supports, thinkprogress.org, June 8.
"I support a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. I think that marriage should be consistent thing across the country. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It's essential for the family. It's essential for the stability of our culture, to make sure that children are given the best hope, which is a mom and a dad. And if we lower our sights for those children, we're robbing children of – many children – of the potential of having a mom and a dad by changing the standard of what society believes in. I think it's important from the standpoint of religious liberty and standpoint of what our children are going to be taught in school."
-Rick Santorum, Republican presidential candidate, in an interview, when asked if, as president, he would push for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, realclearpolitics.com, June 8.
"Never thought it was going to happen. We've been dating for 47 years; it's finally going to be legitimate!"
-James Darby, 79, and Patrick Bova, 73, partners for 47 years, after their civil union ceremony with 31 other couples in Millennium Park on June 2 in Chicago, depauliaonline.com, June 5. Civil unions or their equivalent are now legal in Illinois, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington and the District of Columbia.
