“When California passed Prop. 8 … I felt like I was being attacked, personally attacked, our community was attacked. I got married Oct. 25. You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation, I didn’t feel like I had to; I was just living my life and, not necessarily in the closet, but I was just living my life. Everybody that knows me personally, they know I’m gay. And that’s the way people should be able to live their lives. We shouldn’t have to be standing out here demanding something that we automatically should have as citizens of this country. And I got pissed off. They pissed me off. I said, ‘You know what, now I gotta get in your face.’ And that’s what we all have to do now. They pissed off the wrong group of people. They have galvanized a community. We are so together now and we all want the same thing and we are not going to settle for less. Instead of having gay marriage in California, no, we’re gonna get it across the country. When my wife and I leave California, I want to have my marriage also recognized in Nevada, in Arizona, all the way to New York. … I’m proud to be a woman, I’m proud to be a black woman and I’m proud to be gay.”

“I think it’s pretty obvious who I’m seeing (Samantha Ronson). I think it’s no shock to anyone that it’s been going on for quite some time. … She’s a wonderful person and I love her very much. … Maybe (I’m bisexual). No (I’m not a lesbian). I don’t want to classify myself. First of all, you never know what’s going to happen – tomorrow, in a month, a year from now, five years from now. I appreciate people, and it doesn’t matter who they are.”

“Watching the returns on election night was an amazing experience. Barack Obama is our new president. Change is here. I, like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step towards equality. We were watching history. This morning, when it was clear that Proposition 8 had passed in California, I can’t explain the feeling I had. I was saddened beyond belief. Here we just had a giant step toward equality and then on the very next day, we took a giant step away. I believe one day a ‘ban on gay marriage’ will sound totally ridiculous. In the meantime, I will continue to speak out for equality for all of us.”