“This inclusion is an epic milestone in the telling of gay history because it places gay Americans’ struggle for equality where it belongs — in the story of the Constitution itself.”
— Charles Francis, a founder of the Kameny Papers Project, on the new Library of Congress exhibit “Creating the United States,” which launched at the end of April and focuses on the evolution of the Constitution and other founding documents. It includes papers related to Frank Kameny, who was fired in 1957 from his job as a government astronomer for being gay. (Associated Press, May 9)
“Any reservations that a significant number of [gay] donors might sit [the 2012 presidential election] out have been answered by Donald Trump and the fools in the Republican Party. They have become so vehemently anti-gay.”
— Gay Democratic activist David Mixner on the role of gay donors as an anchor for President Obama’s reelection campaign, motivated also by Obama’s actions to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. (Politico, May 9)
“So when I was about 13 or 14, I realized I was attracted to women and then made the assumption that I was a lesbian, and didn’t realize that that wasn’t the case. It was the fact that I was a man and a heterosexual man. The issue wasn’t my sexual orientation, but rather my gender identity.”
— Chaz Bono, the child of entertainers Cher and Sonny Bono, on coming out first as a lesbian and then as a transgender man. His book about the experience, “Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man,” was released May 10. (Time, May 9)
“A lot of the prejudice comes from environmental and religious factors. If God created us all in his image why would he create someone he would hate?”
— Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, who is openly gay and won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, in a recent interview about sports and homophobia. (Miami Herald, May 9)
Top photo: ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” wedding (via Facebook)