Last Word

Notable quote from this week's GLBT-related newsmakers

By Metro Weekly Contributor on January 30, 2008

”You would need a magnifying glass to see any real or substantive differences between the three candidates.”

— Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, discussing the leading Democratic presidential candidates’ positions on GLBT issues. (New York Times)

”It’s ironic that Sen. John McCain is using the same tactics that George Bush used against him in 2000; surreptitiously trying to exploit anti-gay prejudice for votes.”

— Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, commenting on an automated phone-call campaign conducted ahead of the Florida Republican presidential primary on McCain’s behalf, criticizing candidate Mitt Romney for past promises to the gay community. (HuffingtonPost.com)

”One of the myths about the 2008 election is that the evangelical vote is splintering over issues such as abortion and homosexuality.”

— David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, whose Christian-advocacy marketing and research firm recently polled evangelical voters, 75 percent of whom rated ”homosexual activists” and ”homosexual lifestyles” as major problems, compared to the 35 percent of all Americans. (Baptist Press)

”It’s wonderful to be in a high-profile position, and to be in it as you are.”

— E. Denise Simmons, the recently elected mayor of Cambridge, Mass., the country’s first openly lesbian, African-American mayor. (EDGE Boston)

”This type of legislation is acceptable if we want to turn Jerusalem into another Tehran, not if it is the capital of secular Jews as well.”

— Mordechai Kremnitzer, an Israeli law professor, speaking before a Knesset committee looking at a bill allowing the Jerusalem Municipal Council to ban gay parades or rallies. A legislator supporting the bill, Nissim Zeev, used the debate to liken homosexuality to a plague like ”bird flu.” (Ynetnews.com)

”They are few in number, but sometimes it is the few in number who need the most protection.”

— Craig Lowe, a Gainesville, Fla., city commissioner, arguing in favor of a measure to protect transgender residents there from discrimination, while other commissioners argued the bill amounted to ”special rights” before the standing-room-only public hearing Jan. 28, which saw one member of the audience yelling that trans advocates have ”blood on [their] hands.” (Gainesville Sun)

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

Gays in the military, anti-gay Microsoft boycott, 'unChristian,' Dykes on Bikes, Czech and South African news

By Metro Weekly Contributor on January 9, 2008

”Is it dying basically for lack of interest? Military managers may be turning a blind eye because it’s a nuisance, and we need these people.”

— Eugene Fidell, of the National Institute of Military Justice, commenting on openly gay and lesbian military still serving, as evidenced by the recent 60 Minutes interview with gay Army Sgt. Darren Manzella, who has yet to hear from the Pentagon regarding his sexual orientation. (USA Today)

”We’re not trying to hurt Microsoft or their shareholders, nor are we calling for a boycott of their products. We are trying to get Christians to buy their shares.”

— Dennis Sullivan, member an effort led by Rev. Ken Hutcherson and announced Jan. 8, the AGN Financial Network, explaining the group’s aim of forcing Microsoft and other corporations to promote conservative rather than gay-friendly social agendas via shareholder pressure. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

”Millions of young people, they discovered, see us as judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual, too political, insensitive — and boring. Ouch!”

— Chuck Colson, Watergate-scandal criminal who has spent his later life devoted to prison ministry, writing about a new book, unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…And Why It Matters. (Christian Post)

”The registration of the proposed mark would have no implications for a man.”

— U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, dismissing a filing against trade-marking ”Dykes on Bikes” brought by Michael McDermott, a ”men’s rights advocate.” The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 7 refused to hear McDermott’s appeal, allowing a victory for Dykes on Bikes. (>San Francisco Chronicle)

”The activists have not only achieved the recognition of their human rights, but they have also won respect of society.”

— Dzamila Stehlikova, the Czech minister for human rights and minorities, offering her observation of her country’s gay community upon opening a touring exhibit detailing 20 years of the community’s struggle for equality. (Czech News Agency)

”Safe sex, antiretroviral drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.”

— Wedding invitation from South African activist Zackie Achmat and his now husband, Dalli Weyers, who were married recently. Achmat, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, risked his life in 1999 by refusing HIV medications till they were made available to all South Africans. That country’s Constitution guarantees equality for gays and lesbians, and same-sex marriages have been legal there since 2005. (PinkNews.co.uk)