“It is difficult to the point of impossibility to envision two love-struck heterosexuals contemplating marriage to decide against it because gays and lesbians also have the right to marry; it is equally hard to envision a couple whose marriage is troubled basing the decision of whether to divorce on whether their gay neighbors are married or living in a domestic partnership.”

“The Chico’s (Tacos) case (where five gay men were ejected from the restaurant after two of them kissed) may seem small in comparison with the struggles of John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., but public fallout evoked familiar imagery. A place of public accommodation. A dining room counter. Threats of boycott. A picket line. A subjugated class. City Rep. Steve Ortega went so far as to describe gay equality as ‘the civil-rights issue of our time.’ A lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in Austin said negative reaction to the gay kiss was reminiscent of the era when signs posted in West Texas restaurants read ‘No Mexicans, no dogs.’“

“Forget the slick pharmaceutical ads that, since the mid ’90s, have conveyed the frequently erroneous message that living with AIDS or HIV is all about bicycling through the California Wine Country or climbing a mountain peak or enjoying an ocean cruise with your shirtless, buff buddies. For some perhaps it is, but, for many of us living with any degree or stage of HIV infection, it is a medical, emotional and psychological roller coaster with downs you don’t even want to imagine. … [F]or many of us, it’s still all about basic survival: Can I pay my rent? Will I have enough for groceries at the end of the month? If I tell him I’m positive, will he simply walk away?”

“I have, apparently, hit the Facebook friend limit. They allow no more.”