Pastoral Resources

Part of me looks at the gay movement now and worries that we're losing our individuality.

Remember that I was out of the closet at the age of sixteen. My parents knew I was gay; I'd had to tell them.

Lately, I've been a little sad that I'm not a gay man.

I graduated from high school in '62 and I didn't know any people who were gay. I'm sure there were people, but I didn't know any. For years and years, I guess, I was very uptight about being a gay actor. I thought it would make me less hirable.

I meet a lot of young people in the Midwest, and I saw what a difference a show like In the Life can make to their lives in some of these small towns where, you know, there are probably two gay people in the whole damn town.

Oh, there's going to be debate because you're dealing with the Bible and religion is supposed to be separate from state and that to me is already a conflict before it even hits the gay issue.

Today, many people are engaging in same sex relationships and saying they are not gay.

I'm an Air force Brat and I've lived all over the world and this country and there were people in my community who were gay - nurses, hairdressers, designers - people who just had a different way about themselves.

When I first started teaching at Berkeley in 1958, I could not announce that I was gay to anybody, though probably quite a few of my fellow teachers knew.

It was difficult being a teacher and out of the closet in the '50s. By the time I retired, the English department was proud of having a gay poet of a certain minor fame. It was a very satisfactory change!

I notice that students, particularly for gay students, it's too easy to write about my last trick or something. It's not very interesting to the reader.

A gay man can be friends with a straight man. That can happen.

One disco, one soft ball game, one lost love, one gay pride rally at a time.

There are brilliant out lesbians and gay men and bisexuals and transgendered people and heterosexuals keeping the fire of change alive. Not a day goes by when I don't feel grateful to them for their work.

I don't much care who is gay or straight or married or not. I mostly notice if they are brave enough to confront bigotry.

I am going to sing lesbian love songs and support gay rights no matter what. The rest is public relations.

I grew up in a family where many of our close friends were gay couples. As well as that, every man goes through a period of thinking they're attracted to another guy.

I don't remember deciding to become a writer. You decide to become a dentist or a postman. For me, writing is like being gay. You finally admit that this is who you are, you come out and hope that no one runs away.

It's upsetting that it is such a big deal. I wish it weren't an issue all the time. It's funny that people say it's a departure, because I've been acting since I was a child. I've played three gay roles out of hundreds.

A lot of my friends are club people. It's not me. It's funny to represent that, because it's not me. I don't fit into a gay club setting. It's just ironic that I represent that somehow.