“Open
your
minds
…
You
know
how
many
people
came
to
me
calling
me
gay
cause
I
wear
my
jeans
the
fresh
way?
Or
because
I
said
hey,
dude,
how
you
gonna
say
‘fag’
right
in
front
of
a
gay
dude’s
face
and
act
like
that’s
OK.
That
shit
is
disrespectful.”
Hip
hop
artist
Kanye
West
speaking
out
against
homophobia
to
the
audience
at
his
Aug.
5
show
at
Madison
Square
Garden
(Towleroad.com,
Aug.
7)
“Homophobia
—
in
all
its
forms
—
is
one
of
the
top
five
barriers
to
ending
this
epidemic,
worldwide.
The
fight
against
the
epidemic
is
entering
a
new
phase,
and
if
governments
and
NGOs
and
international
organizations
like
my
own
do
not
take
up
the
fight
for
gay
rights,
and
the
rights
of
all
people
with
diverse
sexuality,
we
will
not
end
AIDS.”
Peter
Piot,
outgoing
director
of
UNAIDS,
addressing
the
MSM
Global
Forum
on
Aug.
1
as
the
International
AIDs
Conference
got
underway
in
Mexico
City.
(aids2008.com,
Aug.
3)
“I
am
not
homophobic.
I
am
not
a
gay-basher.
I
didn’t
say
anything
that
was
negative
nor
derogatory.
I
would
never
do
a
commercial
if
I
thought
it
was
offensive
to
anyone.
Mr.
T
in
an
interview
with
conservative
talk
show
host
Bill
O’Reilly,
reacting
to
criticism
of
his
recent
British
commercial
for
Snickers
that
showed
him
shooting
an
effeminate
speed-walker
with
candy
bars
while
berating
him
to
“run
like
a
real
man”
and
“get
some
nuts.”
(Fox
News,
Aug.
7)
‘’The
general
atmosphere
in
Jamaica
is
a
feeling
of
no
tolerance
towards
homosexuals
in
general,
and
as
such,
.
.
.
the
respondent’s
life
is
definitely
at
risk.’’
Immigration
Judge
Irma
Lopez-Defillo,
deferring
a
deportation
order
for
a
lesbian
Jamaican
currently
living
in
South
Florida.
(Miami
Herald,
Aug.
8)
“It
was
really
cute.
First
Heather
proposed
to
Caroline,
then
Caroline
proposed
to
her.”
Heather
Matarazzo
Photo
by
AP
Publicist
Lisa
Jammal
discussing
actress
Heather
Matarazzo’s
engagement
to
Caroline
Murphy.
Matarazzo
played
opposite
Anne
Hathaway
in
“The
Princess
Diaries.”
(E!
Online,
July
31)
“Civil
rights
are
commonly
hard-won,
and
not
the
result
of
widespread
consensus.
…
Californians
have
accused
the
state
Supreme
Court
of
obstructing
the
people’s
will
on
marriage
before
—
in
1948,
when
it
struck
down
a
ban
on
interracial
marriages.
Fundamental
rights
are
exactly
that.
They
should
neither
wait
for
popular
acceptance,
nor
be
revoked
because
it
is
lacking.”
Editorial
by
the
Los
Angeles
Times
urging
readers
to
vote
against
Proposition
8,
the
November
ballot
measure
that
would
stop
gay
marriages
in
the
state.
(Los
Angeles
Times,
Aug.
8)
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
