Last Word
Quotes from recent GLBT-related news makers
“Twenty years ago, if you were gay and lived in rural Kansas, you went to San Francisco or New York. Now you can just go to Kansas City.”
— Gary J. Gates, an expert in GLBT demographics, commenting on a perceived decline in traditional gay enclaves. (New York Times)
“Cody Castagna also threatened to publicly expose Richard Curtis’ gay lifestyle to his wife.”
— Det. Mark Burbridge of the Spokane, Wash., Police Department, writing his account of Castagna’s alleged blackmail against Washington State Sen. Curtis (R-La Center). According to the court filing, Castagna and Curtis spent time together in a Spokane hotel room Oct. 26. Curtis denies having ever had sex with men and insists he was “trying to help someone out.” (The Columbian, Wash.)
“My daughter has married a woman…. I was disappointed. I can educate an entire nation, but I cannot educate this adopted daughter.”
— Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, telling the audience at an Oct. 30 graduation ceremony that he has disowned his lesbian daughter. (Bangkok Post)
“Whether their sexual preference is to be a homosexual or being gay, that’s their problem…. I have real good Christian values on what I believe in, and I am against homosexuality.”
— Dewayne Brown, a.k.a. Dooney Da’ Priest, a Dallas rap artist, answering complaints that lyrics in his song, “Pull Your Pants Up,” are homophobic. (National Public Radio)
“My informants do not feel that their same-sex sex jeopardizes their socially perceived heterosexual identities, at least within the cheerleading culture.”
— Eric Anderson, writing about his research for the January issue of the journal Sex Roles. Anderson found that among his subjects, 47 men ages 18 to 23 who played high school football but became cheerleaders after not making their college teams, more than a third had sex with other men. (Science Daily)
“When we were in the group, we thought Justin was gay, because he told us he wanted to do a part in a gay movie.”
— Lance Bass, the gay performer formerly of the “boy band” ‘NSYNC, telling GQ how he other group members thought now-superstar Justin Timberlake was gay. (Access Hollywood)
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
Last Word
Notable quotes from this week's news
“I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. I strongly disagree with Rev. McClurkin’s views.”
— Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) responding to criticism after his presidential campaign announced a gospel concert tour featuring some publicly homophobic performers, such as Donnie McClurkin. (Associated Press)
“I hope this race is not about my sexuality…. I am many things — an American, a North Carolinian, a parent, a businessman and lots of other things.”
— Jim Neal, the Democratic challenger for Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s (R-N.C.) seat, after coming out to a wider audience during an interview with the NCBlue blog. (The News & Observer, N.C.)
“The more gay activists push this agenda, the stronger will be the push-back from conservative forces. The result will be counterproductive because it’s going to lead to less space for the gay community in Singapore.”
— Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong advising the Sinapore Parliament ahead of an Oct. 23 vote to reform that country’s penal code. MPs voted to allow oral and anal sex for heterosexuals, yet maintain the acts’ illegality for same-sex couples. (Guardian UK)
“This understanding of church as an exclusive country club with a set of rules that everyone’s got to follow — I don’t think that’s reflective of the type of community that Jesus was all about.”
— Michael Bayly, head of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, leveling criticism at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for pressuring a Catholic church to cancel a talk by a Catholic lesbian and her father regarding their book, Are There Closets in Heaven? (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
“While the anagram to ‘Tom Marvolo Riddle’ is ‘I am Lord Voldemort,’ as my good friend pointed out, ‘Albus Dumbledore’ becomes ‘Male bods rule, bud!’”
— Andrew Slack of the Harry Potter Alliance, suggesting, facetiously, one of the clues that could’ve led fans of the Harry Potter series to uncover that Harry’s mentor, Dumbledore, is gay. Series author J.K. Rowling outed him last week. (Los Angeles Times)
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
Last Word
Clips from recent news headlines
“This bill in its very core is discriminatory towards anyone who disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle.”
— Ron Prentice, head of the California Family Council, lamenting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) signing a new education bill as he vetoed a same-sex marriage bill. The new law will prohibit public schools from sponsoring activities that may promote discrimination against GLBT students. (Baptist Press)
“This education effort on our part is about more than gay rights. It’s about this man’s principle and whether you can trust him.”
— Patrick Sammon, president of the gay Log Cabin Republicans, talking about an LCR-funded ad campaign accusing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney of “flip-flopping.” The LCR is reported to be supporting Rudy Guiliani’s presidential bid. (Washington Times)
“The court sees no reason to doubt the declaration of the suspects that they didn’t even know the victim and his friends were homosexual until they were informed of this by the police after the incident.”
— Amsterdam District Court statement explaining why it cleared two Canadian soldiers of hate crime charges in their attack on a gay, male couple while transiting to Afghanistan via Amsterdam, which left one of the Dutchmen with a broken nose and fractured skull. The soldiers, both sentenced to jail time, said they used homophobic epithets during the attack only because the primary victim wore “dog tags,” but was not a soldier. (Canadian Press)
“This is the second time I’ve been in public office. The difference is that this time I was elected as an ‘out’ lesbian.”
— Jenny Rowan, newly elected mayor of New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast District, discussing her victory, making her the country’s first openly lesbian mayor. (Dominion Post , NZ)
“The fact they are getting married does not grant them any privileges. They will remain in their respective cellblocks and won’t benefit from private family (conjugal) visits.”
— Lucette L’Espérance, assistant warden of the federal penitentiary near Montreal, which houses two inmates who on Oct. 29 will wed in Canada’s third same-sex prison marriage. (CanWest News Service)
“I thought I did a good thing. I tried to find a loving home for the dog because I couldn’t keep it.”
— Ellen DeGeneres, sobbing on her daytime show Oct. 16, explaining her plight with the Pasadena, Calif.-based Mutts and Moms, which repossessed a dog DeGeneres adopted. DeGeneres gave the dog to her hairdresser’s family — against adoption rules — because the dog did not get along with her cats. (Associated Press)
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
Last Word
Headlines from this week's news on the web
”It is an absolutely unfair burden. It is a burden no one else is asked to bear, and it is something I will not do.”
— Cassandra Ormiston, speaking in response to attorneys’ suggestion that if she can’t divorce Margaret Chambers in Rhode Island, the only legal option would be for one to move to Massachusetts, where they got married, and live there long enough to obtain a divorce. (Associated Press)
”There is something special about having to hide this part of your identity at a time when your entire identity is threatened. That’s a faster pathway to depression, failure to thrive and even premature death.”
— Dr. Melinda Lantz, chief of geriatric psychiatry at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, commenting on the added burden seniors face when they are gay. (New York Times )
”I told him I was a woman and I tried to show him my I.D. He refused to look at it. I was extremely uncomfortable and quite humiliated.”
— Khadijah Farmer, recounting her experience while using the women’s bathroom at a popular Greenwich Village restaurant after New York’s gay pride parade in June. Farmer, a lesbian, claims she was ejected from the venue because of her masculine appearance. The restaurant denies the claim. ( Associated Press)
”It’s unfortunate that this small group doesn’t get the message: Most Oregonians know that discrimination is wrong. We look forward to the day when Oregon can close the book on this divisive chapter of our history.”
— John Hummel, Basic Rights Oregon executive director, on anti-gay groups who did not meet the signature threshold required to qualify a referendum to the ballot regarding the state’s recently passed domestic-partnership law. (Salem-News.com)
”Imagine a world without us. I was born gay with some talent and skills. This festival is for people like me.”
— Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India, who was publicly disowned by his family when he came out, speaking at a pride parade he organized in his country. Though rarely enforced, yet used as a tool of harassment, India still has a law against homosexuality. (Reuters)
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
Last Word
Clips from recent GLBT news articles
”Moving forward on this bill now will also better serve the ultimate goal of including people who are transgender, [rather] than simply accepting total defeat today.”
— Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the openly gay congressman who, with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), pulled transgender people from landmark workplace non-discrimination legislation, arguing the move was needed to save the bill. (San Francisco Chronicle)
”We refuse to accept and, in fact, we oppose any legislation that leaves any part of our community behind, particularly the transgender community.”
— Matt Foreman, head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, offering the counter argument on behalf of several GLBT organizations. The Human Rights Campaign announced Oct. 2 that it, too, cannot support the legislation without transgender inclusion. (San Francisco Chronicle)
”The effect is going to be to suggest, ‘This is a bad person, he’s got homosexual tendencies, and we certainly don’t want him in the Navy.”’
— William Ferris, attorney for Navy Cmdr. Kevin Ronan who is charged with secretly videotaping Naval Academy midshipmen having sex in his Annapolis home, decrying a military judge’s Oct. 1 ruling that gay pornography found on Ronan’s computer may be submitted as evidence. Even if found innocent of the charges, this ruling could initiate a military investigation into Ronan’s sexual orientation. (Baltimore Sun)
”These findings suggest that black lesbians, gay men and bisexuals have effective ways to cope with prejudice related to racism and homophobia.”
— Ilan H. Meyer, lead researcher of a study to be reported in the November 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, discussing findings that suggest black GLB people have fewer mental disorders than their white or Latino counterparts. (sciencedaily.com)
”All people — including gay and lesbian Christians and non-Christians — are deserving of the fullest regard of the Church. We are not going backward.”
— Katherine Jefferts Schori, Episcopal presiding bishop and the Church’s first female head, speaking Sept. 30 in San Francisco, about the schism in the Episcopal Church regarding support for same-sex unions and ordination of openly gay people. (Christian Post)
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
