“It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean it is right. … Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a speech to the Heritage Foundation (Washington Post, July 12); Cornyn’s press secretary later told blogger Andrew Sullivan that the quote was contained in the written text of the speech but that Cornyn did not use it

“If courts create their own arbitrary definition of marriage as a mere legal contract, and cut marriage off from its cultural, religious and natural roots, then the meaning of marriage is lost, and the institution is weakened.”
President Bush (National radio address, July 10)

“You can say I’m a hater. But I would argue I’m a lover. I’m a lover of traditional families and children who deserve the right to have a mother and father.”
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), in the floor debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment (Washington Post, July 14)

“I don’t support same-sex marriage. I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The people of my state voted on this on a ballot in the year 2000 and sustained that. Once you have a ballot measure like that, I’m clearly here to carry out the intentions of a majority of the state.”
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), on her opposition to gay marriage; she is also opposed to the Federal Marriage Amendment (“CNN Late Edition,” July 11)

“First of all, to be clear that people should be free to enter into their relationships that they choose. And, secondly, to recognize what’s historically been the situation, that when it comes to conferring legal status on relationships, that is a matter left to the states.”
Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney and former head of the National Endowment of the Humanities, suggesting she opposes the FMA; the Cheneys’ younger daughter Mary is gay and in a long-term relationship (“CNN Late Edition,” July 11)

“In some cultures, sexual intercourse is so elaborate that condoms are a hindrance.”
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, speaking at the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok (Washington Times, July 13)

“[The Federal Marriage Amendment] is taking a group of people and saying ‘You don’t deserve to have equal rights.’ That’s homophobic, and I cannot wrap my mind around why someone would support that.”
Jacob Wilcock, 19, a former intern of Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard (R), primary sponsor of the FMA; Wilcock, who is gay, was awarded a PFLAG college scholarship in a ceremony presided over by Allard (The Coloradoan, July 11)

“Heck, I’d write him a recommendation, and I’d rehire him, too. It wasn’t an endorsement of his lifestyle. It was an endorsement of the education process and a recognition that he wanted to continue his education.”
Republican Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado, on Jacob Wilcock, a 19-year-old former intern who was openly gay during his time in the office (The Coloradoan, July 11)

“Nothing less than the future of our society, and the course of constitutional government in the United States, are at stake.”
Edwin Meese III, attorney general under President Reagan, and Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation (Washington Times, July 13)

“I couldn’t join a party that, frankly, tolerates members who are bigots for one thing, homophobes, racists.”
Ron Reagan, Jr., on the Republican Party (Washington Post July 10)