I Didn't Say It ....

Kristin Chenoweth, on people who use their religion as an anti-gay weapon:

"I think it is very anti-Christian [to hate gay people]. It is the antithesis of what I believe. It is the antithesis of what you should believe if you believe in Jesus. It’s not what he taught, it’s the opposite of what he taught. If Jesus was to walk the Earth today, or Buddha or anybody, they would be horrified. Those people saying they’re doing it in the name of God? No no no no no. I speak as a Christian person, and as a woman and as an artist. I would love nothing more for my friends who love each other to get married. I don’t think it’s a sin, I think we’re born how we’re born. Look at me, I’m 4’11’’, and so if it was a sin to be short, what would I do? Well I’d just be, you know, it’s how God made me."

I love KC. And so it’s nice to see her talk about how she can combine faith and acceptance and understanding that we are all—if you so choose to believe—God’s children.

We’re born how we’re born. Get used to it.

Chris Culliver, of the San Francisco 49ers, who made headlines when he said gays were not welcome in the locker room, on his meeting with The Trevor Project:

"As an African American male, I should know better. Hate and discrimination have a lasting effect, and words matter. I also have a responsibility to myself, and especially to my young fans to be a better role model. The kids who look up to me and other athletes are the future of our country, and our future deserves better than fear, hate and discrimination... I was wrong, and I want to learn how to make it right. That's why I reached out to an organization called The Trevor Project... No child should ever feel like they are less than anyone else, and God has put me through this storm so I can learn from my mistakes and help make sure no child has to feel that way, again."

I'd like to withhold praise, for now. The cynic in me sometimes wonders if, after some people get nailed for their homophobic rants or Tweets, and they suddenly become so, um, tolerant, if it isn’t just an act to repair their tarnished image.

I’m hoping Culliver means what he says today more than what he said a couple of months ago.

Mitt Romney, auditioning for a job at FauxNews, reminding us once again why he is unelectable:

"I believe that marriage is a relationship between a man and a women, and that's because I believe the ideal setting for raising a child is where there's a mother and a father in the home. Other people have differing views and I respect that, whether that's in my party or in the Democratic Party. But these are very personal matters. My hope is that when we discuss things of this nature, we show respect for people who have differing views."

Yes, he’ll be respectful of my view that marriage should be equal but he doesn’t share that view.

And, sorry Mittsy The Unelectable, but it’s not a personal issue, it’s a matter of equality, legality and discrimination.

Believe what you want, legislate equality.

Bill Clinton, on the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA]:

“As the president who signed the act into law, I have come to believe that DOMA is contrary to those principles and, in fact, incompatible with our Constitution. ... When I signed the bill, I included a statement with the admonition that 'enactment of this legislation should not, despite the fierce and at times divisive rhetoric surrounding it, be understood to provide an excuse for discrimination.' Reading those words today, I know now that, even worse than providing an excuse for discrimination, the law is itself discriminatory. It should be overturned."

Nicely said.

And while I was angry at the time of the signing of DOMA, I am pleased to see that Clinton has come around and realized that separate is never, has never been, and will never be, equal.

"Suga" Rashad Evans, UFC fighter, signing the amicus brief sent to SCOTUS by Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe:

“I've never been a homophobe, never understood what that is all about. I knew some people who were gay and never cared about their sexuality. But at the same time, I didn't fully understand the issues around gay people until my friend BA [Brendan Ayanbadejo] started telling me about his full public support for gay marriage. We talked about the issue and I decided it’s not enough to not be against a minority, if you want things to go better for them you have to speak up with them. ... I'm a UFC fighter, a macho-type sport. I am a heterosexual guy in a tough macho sport, which is exactly the reason I feel a duty to say I support gay marriage and gay rights. ... I have nothing to gain personally from supporting this issue, and that's the point. Society as a whole is better when there is equality, and I want to live in a country where everyone has the same rights because we all benefit from that. ... What people overlook is that it isn't a sex issue, it’s a love issue. There's no justifiable reason for trying to get in the way of two people who love each other. ... I have kids. I don't want them growing up in a society where they, or their friends, could be second class citizens based on which person they fall in love with or who they want to be happy with.”

Welcome to the club, “Suga,” and thanks for stating it all so beautifully.

Cyndi Lauper, on Donald Trump:

"I’m not going to kiss ass with somebody like that...I felt that what he said about the gay community was disappointing because a lot of gay people work for him. It’s just sad. I thought he could have done better for his country than just go to the lowest common denominator and stir up the crap. It’s our country, it’s not wrestling. If you try and make our president fail, it doesn’t matter who he is, you make our country fail. And if you really are a patriot, if you really give a sh*t about our country, you don’t do stuff like that. First of all, you’re an entertainer, and you make ugly buildings, and you’re famous for it. And you have a reality show with very high ratings. Don’t step into the forum like that. Become educated with facts. Don’t just be a sh*t-stirrer. Our country is in trouble and he keeps wanting to make [Obama] fail. Let’s call a spade a spade. The guy’s a black man and that’s your issue? What kind of idiot are you? Come on.”

Team Cyndi. All the way.

Peter Tatchell, British activist, on the Queen's signing of the new Commonwealth Charter--which some say is a sign of her support for LGBT right:

"Media reports are wrong. The Queen has NOT expressed support for LGBT equality. The Commonwealth Charter that she’s signing includes no pledge on LGBT rights. LGBT rights were deliberately excluded. In 61 years as Queen, she has never publicly uttered the words lesbian or gay. She is a patron of hundreds of charities but none of them are gay ones. Not once has she visited or supported a gay charity. For the last four years, I’ve been pressing Buckingham Palace over the Queen’s failure to acknowledge the existence of LGBT people - and got nowhere. ... The Commonwealth Charter does not include any specific rejection of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This was vetoed by the homophobic majority of member states. They blocked its inclusion in the charter. This makes the Queen’s signing of the charter even less of a big deal. It is certainly not the breakthrough for LGBT rights that some people are claiming." 

Let’s be clear, the Queen is not about the queens.

Jeanne Ives, Illinois Republican Representative, on voting against marriage equality:

"They're trying to redefine marriage. It's a completely disordered relationship and when you have a disordered relationship, you don’t ever get order out of that. So I’m more than happy to take a 'no' vote on the issue of homosexual marriage. … I'm more than happy to stand up and take a courageous vote here on this issue because it's the right thing to do. Essentially what they’re trying to do is not just redefine marriage, they’re trying to redefine society. They’re trying to weasel their way into acceptability so that they can then start to push their agenda down into the schools, because this gives them some sort of legitimacy. And we can’t allow that to happen. The rights to marriage, it's really a natural right.  It’s the natural right of the child to be with both parents, either in an adoptive nature or in a biological nature. To not have a mother and a father is really a disordered state for a child to grow up in and it really makes that child an object of desire rather than the result of a matrimony."

Where, oh where, to begin.

First off, Jeanne, you’re an idiot. Tell me how I am redefining marriage? Tell me how I am weaseling my way into being accepted, and then tell me why I need to be accepted by the likes of you. Tell me why you’ve just said children in single-parent homes are less well-off than children in two-parents, oops, mommy and daddy only, homes.

You can’t keep spouting the same nonsense and not be asked to explain why …. And just repeating it is not an explanation. So, maybe, Jeanne, once your brain clicks in, you’re realize you aren’t being courageous, you’re just goose-stepping along with the bigots and homophobes, and is that really where you want to go?

I Didn't Say It ....

Michelle Obama, video-posting about marriage equality:

"This is an important issue for millions of Americans, and for Barack and me, it really comes down to the values of fairness and equality that we want to pass on to our girls. These are basic values that kids learn at a very young age and that we encourage them to apply in all areas of their lives. And in a country where we teach our children that everyone is equal under the law, discriminating against same-sex couples just isn’t right. So it’s as simple as that."

How anyone can teach their child to discriminate against anyone is beyond me.

Discrimination is discrimination and it's wrong.

Jane and Joseph Clementi, Tyler Clementi's parents, rejecting Dharun Ravi's "apology" as insincere:

“As to the so-called ‘apology,’ it was, of course, no apology at all, but a public relations piece produced by Mr. Ravi’s advisers only after Judge Berman scolded Mr. Ravi in open court for his failure to have expressed a word of remorse or apology. A sincere apology is personal. Many people convicted of crimes address the victims and their families in court. Mr. Ravi was given that opportunity but chose to say nothing. His press release did not mention Tyler or our family, and it included no words of sincere remorse, compassion or responsibility for the pain he caused.”

Here's how this should have worked, Dharun. You look the Clementi's in the eye and tell them you're sorry. You don't make the apology about you and the kind of person you say you are, but you simply say, 'I'm sorry.'

Is that so hard? No, no for a person who actually shows remorse, which you do not.

David Caton, still up in arms over Disney's Gay Days, and comparing LGBT people to gang members:

"Dozens of gang members visiting Disneyland in California have been evicted after entering the park wearing gang colors according to Kenneth Green, Director of Corporate Communications. He said the company was concerned the groups might intimidate or invoke fear in the hearts of regular patrons. So, Disney can see where a dozen people wearing gang colors might be offensive to regular families but not thousands of same-sex revelers wearing shirts that flaunt and promote homosexual, lesbian and transgender behavior."

LGBT people in red shirts are the same as gang members?

Well, then all those religious wingnuts like Caton who show up in public wearing their Bible-thumping attire should be drummed out of Disney, too.

The LGBT community is not a gang. We don't intimidate or invoke fear by existing.

Unlike your ilk. Asshat.

Kelly Clarkson, on what she will not do for her career:

''I don't want to wear no stiletto. I am not a model and I am not Beyonce. It is not going to happen. This is such a funny industry. Sometimes I turn on awards shows and pop stars are wearing alien costumes. I'm like, 'That's cool for you, but ain't no way in hell someone is going to convince me to wear that on stage.''

Here's the deal: some people just sing, because they can. 

Other people need fireworks and scantily clad backup dancers and wind machines and big hair because, seriously, they cannot sing without the use of autotone or a tracking vocal.

Kelly doesn't need any of that mess.

Greg Louganis, on triumphing over his bullies:

"I almost want to thank all the bullies in my life: the ones who called me 'n*gger,' 'retard,' 'sissy boy,' and 'f*ggot'; those who threatened to throw punches at me and took my lunch money at the bus stop; those who actually threw punches at me and rubbed my face in asphalt; my dad, who whipped me with his belt until I did a dive I was too scared to do in my regular practice; the coaches who belittled me and intimidated me into pushing myself beyond what I thought I was capable of; and the man who raped me at knifepoint, whom I then stayed with for another six years."

There are all kinds of bullies and all kinds of bullying.

No matter your age, your talent, or your success in life.

It has to stop.

Queen Latifah, still ALLEGEDLY n the closet, saying she did not come out at long Beach Pride even while saying she was glad to be "among her people":

“That definitely wasn’t the case. I’ve never dealt with the question of my personal life in public. It’s just not gonna happen.....To me, doing a gay pride show is one of the most fun things. My first show that paid more than $10,000 was in a gay club on New Year’s Eve in San Francisco. Tupac happened to be in town, so he came to kick it with me. This was the early ’90s. And the boys were like, ‘Take your shirt off, Tupac!’ He wasn’t doing that. But we had a blast in there.”

It's a shame she feels that way.

Sad that she has to put that wall up when she does interviews and demand that no one ask about her personal life.

Sad that she can't, or won't, come out, because,. if she did, she'd do wonders for lots of Black LGBT youth.

But she chooses to live in fear and denial and masking it by saying she wants to keep her private life private. if that were truly the case, then why does she talk at all?

Peter Tatchell, British activist, on the Queen's alleged homophobia:

"While I doubt that Elizabeth II is a raging homophobe, she certainly doesn't appear to gay-friendly. Not once in her 60-year reign has she publicly acknowledged the existence of the LGBT community – or gay members of her own royal family. The Queen has turned her back on queens. While she has spoken approvingly of the UK's many races and faiths, for six decades she has ignored LGBT Britons. Judging from her silence, it seems that we are the unspeakable ones – the people she cannot bare to acknowledge or mention in public. Why the double standards? Regardless of whether these omissions are a reflection of the Queen's personal views or the result of advice from her courtiers, as monarch she bears ultimate responsibility. Her silence sends a signal of exclusion and disrespect." 

Wow. Sixty years and not a word about The Gays.

And we were all up in arms over Obama's evolution on marriage equality?

The Brits have felt that sting for sixty-effing-years!

David Mixner, on the evangelical call to kill gays: 

"The temptation, of course, is for thinking people to cross these preachers of hate off as right wing religious crazies. Their attempt to be the moral police of America is more like the Taliban than a thoughtful discussion taking place in a democratic setting. Not taking them seriously, however, would be a mistake."

All it takes is for the wackadoodle words of one of these "men of god" to be put into action and then we'll all feign shock at how this could happen.

Martin Short, on Mitt Romney: 

“I’m sure he’s a very nice man. I’ve never met him. I find it fascinating, though, for a party that seems to fear gays as much as they do, that now the Republicans have fallen head-over-heels for a big stiff one.”

I know Short is joking, but I'm not so sure Mittsy is a nice man. 

I think he's coldly calculating and working toward keeping the rich rich, and the poor poor.

I Didn't Say It........

Justin Amash, the only Republican congressman to vote against yesterday's bill, which passed 396-9:
"The fear that unless 'In God We Trust' is displayed throughout the government, Americans will somehow lose their faith in God, is a dim view of the profound religious convictions many citizens have. The faith that inspired many of the Founders of this country—the faith I practice—is stronger than that. Trying to score political points with unnecessary resolutions should not be Congress's priority. I voted no."


Plus, um, why take so much time and effort in doing this like there aren't bigger problems facing us.
Unemployment.
Walll Street.
The economoy.
Idiotic GOP poresidential candidates.
Nope. In "god"we trust, and if that's the case, who needs politicians at all?

Rick Perry, on the "sanctity of marriage:
"As conservatives we believe in the sanctity of life. We believe in the sanctity of traditional marriage. And I applaud those legislators in New Hampshire who are working to defend marriage as an institution between one man and one woman, realizing that children need to be raised in a loving home by a mother and a father."


So, um, Rick? If a couple has children and they divorce, what should we do about those children since their "loving" home is no more?
And what about the case of families where one parent has died, leaving one parent to raise those children? I guess we should legislate against that, too.
Have another drink, asshat.

Peter Tatchell, gay activist, defends a Christian housing worker who was demoted over remarks about same-sex marriage: 
"In a democratic society, he has a right to express his point of view, even if it is misguided and wrong. Freedom of speech should only be limited or penalised in extreme circumstances, such as when a person incites violence against others. Mr Smith's words did not cross this threshold."


I agree that people should be allowed to speak their minds, even if what they believe is decidedly anti-gay.
What they cannot do, is use their own "Christian" beliefs as part of their job requirements.
If this Christian housing worker was just speaking his mid, good for him. if he was acting on his beliefs, then bad for him.

Shirley Maclaine offers a WTF explanation for homosexuality: 
"One of the explanations for homosexuality and transgenderism could, I believe, be a profound identification with a recent incarnation as a member of the opposite sex. I believe each one of us has had both male and female lifetimes."


So, um, I was a woman in a former life and that's why I'm gay now?
But, Shirley, then everyone would be gay today is our lives now are based on our gender in previous existences. unless this is our first go-round at reincarnation.
Plus, for someone so enlightened to compare being gay to wanting to be, or having been, another gender, is kinda stupid.
I love that one of your books was called 'Out On a limb' because that's where you are right now.

Rick Mercer, Canadian TV personality, demanding that police be called in to deal with bullies, and that gay public figures take action:
"It’s no longer good enough for us to tell kids who are different that it's going to get better. We have to make it better now. So If you're gay and you're in public life, I’m sorry, you don't have to run around with a Pride flag and bore the hell out of everyone, but you can't be invisible. Not anymore."


Totally right.
We can make videos and tape messages and blog and Tweet about how it gets better, but are we really making it better?
That's where we need to focus.

David Barton, dominionist and "historian", who says the Bible should be the basis of all school courses:
"If you want education you better include the fear of God, if you want to be a good scientist you better include the fear of God, if you want to be a good musician—1962, ’63, the U.S. Supreme Court in three decisions said no more fear of God in education, we want education to be secular. All right, that’s a theological issue. How’s that working out? In 1962, ’63, America was number one in the world in literacy, we are now number sixty-five in the world in literacy. We don’t have the fear of the Lord, because guess what, we don’t have knowledge, it goes down."


Oh yes, no God in schools has caused a decline in education.
But, um, Dave? Asshat? What of religions that don't identify as Christian? Where do they go to school? What of people who are atheist or agnostic? Where can they get an education?
Taikng God out of the schools doesn't hurt anyone. If you want to study God we have things called churches. If you believe a faith-based education is best, send your child to a faith-based school.

Joel Osteen, megachurch "pastor", on how heterosexuals should "love" the gay away:
"Somebody that maybe had this certain difficulty now, maybe in five years they’re not if we will love them. You know, I think one of the messages I speak on sometimes is, you know, we can love people back into wholeness. But sometimes we want to beat them down — you got this addiction and you shouldn’t have that, or you did this — I just don’t think that’s the best way."


Or, Joel, you try and sound so inclusive, but your "loving the gay away" is the same as "praying the gay away".
It don't work.
But, and I'm just guessing here, you wouldn't mind loving a little gay yourself, would you?
This is just hate speech in a nice pretty bow.

Oliver Callan, an Irish satirist, responding to a newspaper columnist who accused him of being a homophobe:

"This column was intended to reveal to the world that I'm a hate-filled homophobe out to get the gays. Let's get one thing straight, I'm not homophobic, I'm gay....I've been called a fag, a daisy, a fairy, a pansy, a queer, all of that down through the years. I'm from a very small part of Co Monaghan and coming out probably made me literally the only gay in the village. Obviously everybody says you're born that way, but in all honesty when I was 11 or 12 I just knew I was different. I felt like a Protestant on the Falls and I knew I was different to my older brother who started driving the tractor when he was eight. I'm not singing I'm gay and proud. I'm saying I'm gay and I don't give a s**t and neither should anyone else."


As it should be.
Welcome out, Oliver, welcome out.

Maggie Gallagher, on Kim Kardashian's 72-day marriage:
"I'm reluctant to criticize any given individual who divorces because moral judgments are hard without more information that it is my business to know – and celebrity divorces are too common to warrant special notice. Hollywood in general and Kim Kardashian in particular support gay marriage. Perhaps that makes sense, if the speed of her divorce reflects a reduced commitment to the marriage."


Basically what this delusional wingnut is saying, is that if you're heterosexual, and a celebrity, you don't need to believe in, or stay true to, your commitment, or the sanctity of marriage.
You can get married, twice if you're Kim, and divorce your husband--after letting the internet tell him you want a divorce--after a matter of weeks, but gay folks--like Carlos and me, who have been together 56-times longer than Kim and her husband--are not allowed to marry.
This alone speaks volumes about NOM and how they aren't trying to "protect" marriage, they're simply trying to keep gay folks from doing it.