“Texans
have
made
a
decision
about
marriage
and
if
there
is
some
other
state
that
has
a
more
lenient
view
than
Texas
then
maybe
that’s
a
better
place
for
them
to
live.”
Texas
Gov.
Rick
Perry,
as
he
was
about
to
sign
a
bill
to
place
a
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage
before
the
voters
(Associated
Press,
June
6)
“We
don’t
have
the
same
theology
as
Pat
Robertson.
Hurricanes
are
not
a
divine
punishment.”
Roman
Catholic
Bishop
Thomas
Wenski,
contrasting
his
mass
last
weekend
asking
God’s
protection
during
Florida’s
upcoming
hurricanes
season,
from
the
televangelist’s
1998
claim
that
Orlando
risked
God’s
retribution
for
allowing
gay
pride
flags
on
municipal
poles
to
mark
the
annual
Gay
Days
celebration
(Orlando
Sentinel,
June
2)
“The
various
forms
of
the
dissolution
of
matrimony
today,
like
free
unions,
trial
marriages
and
going
up
to
pseudo-matrimonies
by
people
of
the
same
sex,
are
rather
expressions
of
an
anarchic
freedom
that
wrongly
passes
for
true
freedom
of
man.”
Newly
elected
Pope
Benedict
XVI
(Associated
Press,
June
6)
“I
do
not
find
it
surprising
that
Massachusetts
continues
to
have
one
of
the
lowest
divorce
rates
in
the
country
while
Texas
has
one
of
the
highest.
Vermont
has
had
five
years
of
civil
unions,
and
still
the
sun
comes
up
every
morning
and
Vermont
families
stay
intact.
Isn’t
it
clear
that
we
are
growing
and
strengthening
families
by
including
everyone?”
Tipper
Gore,
wife
of
the
former
vice
president,
speaking
at
a
Human
Rights
Campaign
fund-raiser
near
Salt
Lake
City
(Associated
Press,
June
6)
“Public
opinion
[in
the
Netherlands]
has
become
very
superficial
and
unreliable
since
the
rise
and
death
of
Pim
Fortuyn.
All
of
a
sudden
masses
of
people
supported
an
extravagant,
militant
homosexual
with
a
deviating
opinion
and
chauffeur-driven
Bentley.”
Belgian
Foreign
Minister
Karel
de
Gucht
on
the
2002
assassination
of
Pim
Fortuyn,
a
gay,
populist
anti-immigration,
Dutch
politician;
he
was
angry
over
the
Netherlands
voters
rejecting
the
European
Constitution
(Associated
Press,
June
5)
“Elton
sees
a
little
bit
of
himself
in
Billy.”
Dara
O’Briain,
guest
host
of
the
BBC
game
show
“Have
I
Got
News
For
You?”,
joking
about
openly
gay
singer
Elton
John’s
interest
in
the
musical
“Billy
Elliot,”
based
on
the
movie
about
the
11-year-old
ballet
dancer;
the
remark
drew
angry
criticism
from
the
gay
rights
group
Outrage
(BBC
News,
May
18)
“Indeed,
gay
obituaries
suggest
that
engaging
in
homosexuality
costs
participants
between
15
to
25
years
of
life,
suggesting
that
homosexuality
is
more
dangerous
than
smoking
or
being
fat.”
Dr.
Paul
Cameron,
Family
Research
Institute
president,
who
drew
data
from
more
than
10,000
obituaries
from
the
Washington
Blade,
and
concluded
they
proved
the
average
age
of
death
for
gay
men
was
42
in
1994
