"As a young boy my room was plastered with photos of bodybuilders. Naked, oiled male bodies. That got my mother so concerned, she asked our family doctor one day to take a look at that. 'Other boys put images of women on their walls, and mine does this!' She believed I was gay. That's nothing wrong, but for her it was unimaginable back then. The wise doctor calmed her down. 'Everyone had idols; others would hang up pictures of the Beatles, even though they were men as well. Look at it like this, Mrs. Schwarzenegger: as an athlete he surely won't start to smoke or drink!' That assured her. Her worry lines stayed though."
– Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a recent interview in a Austrian magazine, blogout.justout.com, Jan. 19.
"(Passing legislation or adopting policies that recognize) forms of unions, which distort the essence and purpose of the family end up penalizing those who, with much effort, commit themselves to living a life whose bonds are marked by stable intimacy, have juridical guarantees and are recognized publicly."
– Pope Benedict XVI, quoted in an article titled "Same-sex unions 'penalize' traditional marriage," from the Pope's speech about rapid social and cultural changes in society, www.catholicnews.com, Jan. 14.
"Of course, same-sex couples with much effort, commit themselves to living a life whose bonds are marked by stable intimacy, without the artificial and societal benefit of juridical guarantees or public recognition, making it that much more difficult to maintain those relationships, and the fact that we're fighting for the right to marry should suggest we want marriage at least as much as those heterosexual married couples, fifty percent of whom cannot manage to stay married, or faithful, and are fighting not for marriage, but for divorce. But why should that matter?"
– David Badash, responding to the Pope's comments in his column titled "Pope's Latest Assault: Gay Marriages Are 'Penalizing' Straight Marriages," thenewcivilrightsmovement.com, Jan. 20.
"The repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' was a turning point in the marriage discussion. It poses a major challenge and an opportunity for the president. Given that openly gay men and women would soon be fighting and, in some cases, dying for their country, I wondered whether the president thought it was time that those women and men be entitled to full marriage rights. The president is facing new terrain now that some gays in the military will undoubtedly be lawfully wedded to their partners. Will the families of those service members have access to the same benefits and support networks that their heterosexual counterparts have? Will their spouses be the first informed if they pay the ultimate sacrifice in the course of defending their country?"
– Kerry Eleveld, in an opinion column titled "Obama's gay rights challenge," www.washingtonpost.com, Jan. 21
"(C)hild rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country. Gay couples in Southern states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than their counterparts on the West Coast, in New York and in New England. The pattern is also notable because the families in this region defy the stereotype of a mainstream gay America that is white, affluent, urban and living in the Northeast or on the West Coast."
– Gary Gates, a University of California demographer, citing data from a 2009 Census Bureau sampling regarding LGBT people, in an article titled "Parenting by Gays More Common in the South, Census Shows," www.nytimes.com, Jan. 18.
"Canada celebrates ten years of marriage equality and the world is still rotating on its axis and hasn't regressed to its former flat state of 6000 years ago – back when the Sun rotated around the Earth and talking snakes inhabited gardens with mysterious fruit trees. Plus! Despite claims from gay-hating American fundies, not a single heterosexual marriage has failed anywhere in the entire known universe due to the gays getting hitched in Canada."
– Mike Tidmus, on his blog, www.miketidmus.com/blog, Jan. 14.
