I Didn't Say It ...

George Takei, on the anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death:

"Matthew [Shepard's] death brought about calls for stricter hate crime legislation. Under Wyoming and Federal law at the time, LGBT persons were not included within existing hate crime definitions. The battle to bring about this change was not easy. It took nearly 20 years of lobbying, votes, threats of vetoes, and partisan bickering before a Federal law included LGBT persons within the definition. On October 28, 2009, President Obama finally signed the Matthew Shepard Act into law.... I came out publicly in 2005, though I had been out privately for many decades with friends and family. My decision stemmed from a desire to stand up and be counted, so that I could help people see the human side of how bigotry, hatred and intolerance affects others. Coming out is never easy, and often never ending. If you have gay, lesbian or bisexual friends who have come out to you, take the time to thank them today for their courage, and for helping to make a difference in the lives of others, especially of young people like Matthew Shepard who bear so much of the burden of homophobia, bullying and violence against LGBT people. Thank you. And Matthew, I promise you, we will remember." 

I’ll always remember, too, because, there but for the grace of god, that could have been me that night; that could have been any of us.

Janis Lane, president of the Mississippi Tea Party, on women and voting:

"Our country might have been better off if it was still just men voting. There is nothing worse than a bunch of mean, hateful women. They are diabolical in how than can skewer a person. I do not see that in men. The whole time I worked, I'd much rather have a male boss than a female boss. Double-minded, you never can trust them. Because women have the right to vote, I am active, because I want to make sure there is some sanity for women in the political world. It is up to the Christian rednecks and patriots to stand up for our country. God bless America."

So, this is typical Teabagger rubbish.

This woman doesn’t think women should vote because they’re all bitches and stuff, but this woman says she is active in politics because women vote.

Janis, Janis, Janis, how you make it so clear that the Tea Party speaks out of both their mouths and asses at the same time, astounds me!

Sally, Field, accepting the HRC Ally Award, calling it unacceptable for parents to toss LGBT kids out of their home, and thanking the audience for being there for her son Sam:

"You all have fought for him as surely as you were one of his parents. You've changed and are changing the lives of little boys and girls who realized somewhere along the way they're just different from their other brothers and sisters. And so the fuck what."

You always hear about the unconditional love a parent has for a child, and then you hear about the gay kid kicked out of his or her home for coming out.

I guess, for some parents, their love does have conditions. Thanks goddess more and more parents are like Sally Field.

Or, my mom and dad.

Ken Mehlman, former self-loathing, closeted homosexual goosestepper in the George W Bush anti-gay wars, on the so-called on the conservative case for same-sex marriage: 

"As Republicans, we respect the individual and work to empower people to live as they see fit, with as little intrusion by the government as practical. This idea is grounded in an important Judeo-Christian value that we should all treat others as we would like to be treated. Put yourself in your neighbor's shoes. How would you feel if, even though you paid the same taxes, potentially served in the same military and followed the same rules as your neighbor, your government denied you the freedom to marry the person you loved in ceremony?"

As little intrusion by the government as possible?

Then why is the government, and mostly the GOP, all up in the business of who marries and who doesn’t?

Nice of you to join the party, Ken. Better late than never.

Elton John, on the difference between civil unions and marriage:

'I know a lot of people, and perhaps especially religious people, will say that David and I should count ourselves lucky for living in a country that allows civil partnerships, and call it quits there. Well, I don’t accept this. I don’t accept it because there is a world of difference between calling someone your ‘partner’ and calling them your ‘husband’. ‘Partner’ is a word that should be preserved for people you play tennis with, or work alongside in business. It doesn’t come close to describing the love that I have for David, and he for me. In contrast, ‘husband’ does. A ‘husband’ is somebody that you cherish forever, that you would give up everything for, that you love in sickness and in health. Until the law recognises David Furnish is my husband, and not merely my partner, the law won’t describe the man I know and adore."

My sentiments exactly.

I’ll give the story again on the semantics:

Two kids on the playground at school, and one says, “Today is my Mom and Dad’s anniversary.”

The other kid says, “My two Dads’ have their anniversary next month.”

First kid replies, “But they’re two men so they aren’t married, they just have a ‘partnership.’”

It’s different. It’s less than. It’s unacceptable.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, on marriage equality:

"The key thing about faith—at least in this country—is that you can choose whether to believe or not, and you can pretty much choose how to observe your faith. But you can’t (really) choose where you are born, or the laws under which you grow up whether you are gay or straight. And marriage is an ancient human institution that is far older than any of the religions that are practised today. It may well be beloved by God, but no religion has ever had a monopoly on marriage …. Marriage is an institution that can bring great happiness. It is a formal acknowledgment, by society, of the love and bond that can exist between human beings. It provides stability and comfort. Far from dying out, marriage is on the increase – especially in London. Why on earth would we deny it to anyone?"

Why on earth, indeed?

Lee Thompson, openly gay 'Uncle Poodle' to TLC reality show 'star' Alana, of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, on being gay and redneck in the South:

"We were at practice one day, getting ready for a pageant. Her coach was talking about her gay friends, and she said, ‘I love all my poodles.’ Alana thought she was really talking about dogs. She wanted to know how many poodles she had, and what were their names, [and] I said, ‘No, Alana, she’s talking about gay people.’ Well, that did it. All gay people are poodles to her now, and I’m her number one poodle....I'm gay, but I’m as redneck as I can get. If you want people to accept you, you have to show you don’t have a problem with yourself and just be up front about who you are. If you do, you earn people’s respect. If everybody would just go on and do that, ignorant people couldn’t cause so many problems. I know this is how I was born and I don’t need to explain it to anybody. I live my life for who I am."

We’re here. We’re queer. And we come in all sorts of packages, even redneck!

Who knew?

And, as Uncle Poodle says, if you hide your sexual orientation, it’s almost like saying you feel shame about it, and if you feel ashamed of being gay, how the hell can you expect anyone else not to agree.

Come.Out.

Angelina Pivarnick, of the Jersey Shore, on marriage equality.

“I love gay people. I have a lot of friends that are gay. No offense to any gays out there if I'm offending any of you I'm sorry. But, my opinion is that I don't think gays should be married. If you want to date each other, fine. We’ll see how it works. But in the end, they should really go and marry the other type. If you're a male, marry female. If you're a female, marry male. Women are supposed to be pregnant by the men that they're with, and they should be able to have beautiful children...”

I dunno who this bitch is because, unlike a lot of, to coin an Ann Romney-ism, “you people”, I have never seen the Jersey Shore because it looked like a bunch of stupid, drunks and, well, do we really want to invite that into our homes?

And then you have this, um, person, who just loves The Gays but says we all oughta just marry someone straight because that’s how it should be.

I, for one, say we oughta pass a law, that people like Angelina Pivarnick, never be allowed to marry or procreate. How does that sound, Ang?

Maya Angelou, on the importance of voting:

"We are here in direct relation to the heroes and she-roes who paid with their lives for this right. Many of us are old enough to remember what it felt like to be told we could not register to vote without taking a test or paying a poll tax. Some were asked how many angels danced on a head of a pin, how many bubbles were in a bar of soap. We are here because four courageous college freshmen sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro in 1960, four years before the passage of the Civil Rights Act, to make a stand for equality. It’s a terrible thing to obstruct access to the ballot. But we follow all those who had the courage to dare to live so we can dare to live. Because of them, we are here. So vote to keep moving us forward. And carry with you your friends, family and neighbors. Carry them from your congregations, your beauty salons and barbershops, your sororities and fraternities. Carry with you those five people whose vote could make the difference. You may be pretty or plain, heavy or thin, gay or straight, poor or rich. But nobody has more votes than you. All human beings are more equal to each other than they are unequal. And voting is the great equalizer. It is important. It is imperative. There is no time for complacency."

If we forget history we are doomed to repeat it.

Rosie Perez, on Mitt Romney's assertion that he'd have a better chance of winning if he were Hispanic:

"Oh my goodness! What if you were just a little bit gay, Mitt? Think of all the advantages that would provide. No! Wait for it! What if you had a vagina? If you were a gay Latina this election would be in the bag for you. Unfortunately for you Mitt, you were cursed with the hard knock life of growing up as the son of a wealthy governor and auto executive..."

Suh-nap!