Friendly Voices - Brad Pitt

"What are you so afraid of? That’s my question. Gay people getting married? What is so scary about that? It’s complicated. You grow up in a religion like that and you try to pray the gay away. I feel sadness for people like that. This is where people start short-circuiting—instead of being brave and questioning their beliefs, they are afraid and feel that they have to defend them. I don’t mind a world with religion in it. There are some beautiful tenets within all religions. What I get hot about is when they start dictating how other people must live. People suffer because of it. They are spreading misery." - Brad Pitt, speaking to Parade Magazine.

Friendly Voices - Clint Eastwood

"These people who are making a big deal about gay marriage? I don’t give a fuck about who wants to get married to anybody else! Why not?! We’re making a big deal out of things we shouldn’t be making a deal out of. Just give everybody the chance to have the life they want." - Clint Eastwood, speaking to GQ Magazine.

Friendly Voices - Adam Levine

"I can single-handedly dispel any ideas that sexuality is acquired. Trust me, you’re born with it. My brother is gay, and we knew when he was two. We all knew. We all really wanted to provide some cushion for him and constantly let him know that it’s OK. A lot of people don’t want their kid to be gay and will fight it at all costs. But I’ve got news for you—it’s a losing fucking battle. The more you fight it, the more fucked-up your kid’s gonna be. You’ve just gotta embrace it from the beginning. That’s the only way to deal with it as a family. Otherwise, you’re just screwing yourself over, and you’re gonna make your kid miserable." - Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, speaking to Out Magazine.

Friendly Voices - Ron Darling

"I don't think we're there yet, and I think that is sad. But it is going to happen. It is going to take one of the great players to come out. At some point, one of our athletes is going to reveal that he is gay, and I think that will be a joyous moment - not only for gays and lesbians, but for all of us." - Retired New York Met and current sportscaster Ron Darling, speaking on when a currently-playing major league athlete might come out. Darling tells the Daily News that he's "joyous" over the passage of marriage equality.

Friendly Voices - Gwyneth Paltrow

"A few months ago, in the heat of the tragic teen suicides that came about from intolerance of homosexuality, I saw a man on television who was apologizing for wishing death on gays from his facebook page. This member of an Arkansas school board was contrite for the violence in his words, but maintained that his values pertaining to homosexuality would remain, as he felt homosexuality was condemned in the bible. This concept, while foreign to me, is interesting, as it used to justify so much judgement and separation in our society. When my daughter came home from school one day saying that a classmate had two mommies, my response was, 'Two mommies? How lucky is she?!' What does it actually say in the bible that will cause some people to be upset by my line of thinking? Happy pride." - Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, writing on her personal blog.

Friendly Voices - Jennifer Lopez

"It’s OK to be out. I do think it is. I do think it’s acceptable for people to be who they are. I am a huge advocate of that. In that sense, that’s the only way we can truly love ourselves, it’s by accepting who we are and letting everybody know who we are. So, I’m very proud – you know – I’m friends with Ricky [Martin] and I’m very proud of him and support him in everything he does. And all these people who have been... who want to step forward and tell the world who they are… I think that’s awesome." - Jennifer Lopez, in an interview with gay Latino blogger Andres Duque.

Friendly Voices - Nelly Furtado

"I'm proud to live in Canada, a country that supports gay marriage, because I can speak openly about it to my child. Children shouldn't be raised in a bubble. There's nothing wrong with it, so why wouldn't I treat it as normal? Nothing makes me more brokenhearted than seeing people who feel they can't be themselves. It's such a crime. God, it's so hard and horrible to be a teenager, and the virtual way young people communicate nowadays makes them feel even more disconnected. My advice [to troubled gay teens] is to reach out and find somebody you can relate to, because human interaction can heal those wounds." -Multiple Grammy winner Nelly Furtado, speaking to South Florida's She Magazine.

Friendly Voices - Kristin Chenoweth

"As someone who’s been proudly advocating for equal rights and supporting GLBT causes for as long as I can remember, I know how much it means to young people struggling with their sexuality to see out & proud actors like Sean Hayes, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris and Cynthia Nixon succeeding in their work without having to keep their sexuality a secret.

"No one needs to see a bigoted, factually inaccurate article that tells people who deviate from heterosexual norms that they can’t be open about who they are and still achieve their dreams. I am told on good authority that Mr. Setoodeh is a gay man himself and I would hope, as the author of this article, he would at least understand that. I encourage Newsweek to embrace stories which promote acceptance, love, unity and singing and dancing for all!" - Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth, responding to Ramin Setoodah's Newsweek article titled Straight Jacket, in which he claims that gay actors cannot convincingly play straight roles.

Chenoweth is currently starring in Broadway's Promises, Promises opposite Sean Hayes, whom Setoodah describes as "the pink elephant in the room."

Friendly Voices - Colin Farrell

"I can't remember much about the years of physical and emotional abuse my brother Eamon suffered. I was very small. The thing i do remember though, quite literally, is blood on his school shirt when he came home in the afternoon. The beatings and taunting were very frequent for my him and a constant part of his school years. I didn't understand at that time the concept of 'difference'. Back then, as now, he was just my big brother. If I did understand what difference was I understood it in the most pure and unaffected childlike way. To me then, as a child, difference meant being left out. Joy and laughter came with being included, being embraced , and BELONGING to.

"People are often afraid of difference. They feel that anything that causes fear, should be turned away from. My brother represented fear for so many people, but caused joy in my life. From a very young age he made me laugh with his intelligence and wit, made me aspire to his strength and goodness. He was to be embraced. To many of the students of his school however he was to be feared. He was to be turned away from. I didn't understand it then, and I still don't know. As a race we humans are united and divided by emotions. The mother and father of all emotions, the queen and king are love and fear. Love unites, it brings us closer to an understanding of the possibility of beauty amidst all the confusion and pain that life can bring. Hate is a disease. It is fear's messenger and it makes us do terrible things in a shadow of our better selves, of what we could be." - Actor Colin Farrell, in a statement of support to an Irish LGBT youth support group.

(Tipped by JMG reader Gerald)

Friendly Voices - Miley Cyrus

"There has been so much controversy sometimes about what I’ve said or done because I believe there are no mistakes because God is the only one who can judge us. That’s the reason I deleted my Twitter account because I said on there that I believed in gay marriage because everyone should have the right to love each other, and I got such hate mail about my being a bad person." - Teen pop star Miley Cyrus, talking to People Magazine.

Miley adds: "I don’t really watch television at all. But there is one show I’m addicted to: RuPaul’s Drag Race. I love me some RuPaul. I love RuPaul’s motto. It goes something like, ‘A real lady is never bitchy, a real lady is sassy.'"

(Tipped by JMG reader Arthur)

Friendly Voices - Henry Rollins

"Let the record speak for itself. The Catholic Church does not approve of homosexuality; their position on pedophilia, however, is not as clear. I am sure most Catholics do not approve of pedophilia, but the executive branch of Catholicism seems to have difficulty convincing some of us that they are willing to do what is necessary to make sure that the members of their staff who are active sexual predators are brought to justice.

"I can't see any sane person not wanting someone who harms innocent children taken out of circulation as soon as possible. Relocating them is tantamount to enabling them further. Maybe there should be a television show called To Catch A Priest. I'll watch. I think the expulsion of this child from the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School is the best break the parents could have hoped for. Children should be raised in an environment of kindness and encouragement, not discrimination and ignorance." - Henry Rollins, in a Vanity Fair essay saying that those protesting the explusion of the children of gay parents from Catholic schools are "wasting their time" and that the kids shouldn't be there in the first place.

(Tipped by JMG readers JW Swift and BStewart23)

Friendly Voices - Desmond Tutu

"Uganda's parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been debated in Rwanda and Burundi. These are terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa. Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear.

"And they are living in hiding -- away from care, away from the protection the state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era, when all of us, especially Africans, need access to essential HIV services. That this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where Christ said "Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones." Gay people, too, are made in my God's image. I would never worship a homophobic God." - Desmond Tutu, in an editorial published in today's Washington Post.

And what has Pope Palpatine said about Uganda? NOTHING.

Friendly Voices - Taylor Reveley

"Let’s be clear that William & Mary neither discriminates against people nor tolerates discrimination on our campus. Those of us at W&M insist that members of our campus community be people of integrity who have both the capacity to meet their responsibilities to the university and the willingness to engage others with civility and respect.

"We do not insist, however, that members of our community possess any other particular characteristics, whether denominated in race, religion, nationality, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other of the myriad personal characteristics that differentiate human beings. We certainly do not discriminate against people on such grounds, or tolerate discrimination against them. This is the way we live our lives together at William & Mary, because we believe this is the way we should live our lives together. This is not going to change." - William & Mary president Taylor Reveley, stating his disobedience to Virginia AG Ken Cuchinelli's edict that state schools should not protect LGBT employees from job discrimination.

(Via - Pam's House Blend)

Friendly Voices - Daniel Radcliffe

"I grew up knowing a lot of gay men and it was never something that I even thought twice about -- that some men were gay and some weren't. And then I went to school and (for) the first time ... I came across homophobia. I had never encountered it before. It shocked me. I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians or bisexuals. Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can actually help or do something about it.

"I have described myself as being 'gently eccentric' and slightly different as a person just because I've had a very different set of influences growing up than anybody else in my peer group did. I think it's important for somebody from a big, commercial movie series like Harry Potter and particularly because I am not gay or bisexual or transgendered. The fact that I am straight makes not a difference, but it shows that straight people are incredibly interested and care a lot about this as well." - Daniel Radcliffe, speaking from the NYC headquarters of the LGBT teen suicide prevention hotline The Trevor Project, for whom he has just made a promotional film.

Friendly Voices - Hudson Taylor

Nationally ranked college wrestler Hudson Taylor is a passionate advocate for LGBT rights, to the point where he even competed with the HRC logo on his headgear. Via Outsports:

When Hudson Taylor proposed to Lia Alexandra Mandaglio, it was fitting that it was the same night they saw the movie "Milk." The story about a pioneering gay rights advocate meant a lot to the couple. Back at Mandaglio's condominium in Washington DC, Taylor, a University of Maryland wrestler, presented her with a signed edition of Martin Luther King's book "Why We Can't Wait." She didn't wait, and said yes. They will be married on Sept. 24, 2011. Taylor proposed to Lia Alexandra Mandaglio the same night they saw "Milk." "The proposal is a big event not to be taken lightly," Taylor said. "We're both very progressive and very outspoken in LGBT and feminist issues." The book "symbolized how we felt and how we would act," and was "very fitting for the engagement." Being outspoken and passionate is nothing new for Taylor, 36-2 this season and ranked No. 3 in the country in the 197-pound NCAA wrestling weight class. In addition to being a champion wrestler, he is an academic All American with his eye on law school and a possible future political career.

Read the entire interview, he's awesome.

Friendly Voices - Anne Hathaway

"The whole family converted to Episcopalianism after my elder brother came out. Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother? So I'm ... nothing [no denomination]. Fuck it, I'm forming. I'm a work in progress." - Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway, speaking to GQ.

Friendly Voices - Margaret Hoover

"Some Republicans support gay rights, but prefer progress through legislative action or majority rule at the ballot box, rather than judicial action. But what if a democratic election imposes mandates that violate a citizen’s constitutional freedom? In the event that majority rule insufficiently protects individual liberty, our system of checks and balances puts forth that it is the role of the courts, to guarantee and protect the rights to individual Americans.

"That’s why the Supreme Court, in 1967 Loving v. Virginia, legalized interracial marriage –six years after our current president was born to an interracial couple. At that time 73% of the population opposed “miscegenation.” How long would it have taken to change popular opinion, for the minority to democratically win their constitutional rights? As Martin Luther King, Jr. famously asserted, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

"For those of you who would label me a 'RINO' (Republican In Name Only) for taking this stand, I direct you to Vice President Cheney, whose conservative credentials are impeccable, and who answered a question on the topic before the National Press Club audience on June 1, 2009 by saying simply, 'freedom means freedom for everyone.'" - Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover, coming out for marriage equality on FoxNew.com, of all places. Hoover directs readers to the Facebook page Republicans For Marriage Equality.

Friendly Voices - Jason Mraz

"As a straight man I really have nothing to gain by standing up for equal rights for Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual, and/or my Transgender friends. Except for the fact that I have many friends who are still subjected to hurtful comments by a society that hasn’t yet embraced fully the nature of… nature. Supporting a limiting system of rules for specific people to follow is prejudice. It’s the Antithesis of Christ Consciousness and (like smoking) it’s Soooo last century.

"Allowing love to freely flourish will only enhance the life experience - For All. Imagine telling cyclists to stay off the road. 'These roads are for cars only! Those who dare to pedal on the shoulder will most likely get hit! Drivers will not expect to see you. It will not be the drivers’ fault if you get hurt.' Yet, by sharing the road, the same rules get to apply to all of us. And surprisingly, we all get somewhere. No one has to sit at the back of the bus." - Pop singer Jason Mraz, writing on his personal blog.

Friendly Voices - Dennis & Christine Wiley

"A final piece that shapes black attitudes toward same-sex marriage is the preoccupation with racism in the black community. This obsession, although justifiable, has led to a failure to appreciate how racism is inextricably connected to all other forms of oppression. Those who fail to see this connection may resent the comparison of gay rights with civil rights. But as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"Last week, two black D.C. Council members voted against the same-sex marriage bill. But five black council members voted for it. Our black mayor signed it on Friday, and our black congressional representative has promised to defend it on Capitol Hill. Although the bill faces the possibility of intervention by Congress, something revolutionary is happening in this city to debunk the notion that the black community's homophobia is entrenched.

"Many new members are joining the church, excited by our vision. The couple for whom we performed the first union ceremony at our church are still together and doing well. And the man who aspired to the ministry was ordained a few weeks ago and is now a chaplain supervisor at a local hospital. Some who disagree with us have condemned us to hell. But we believe that God has granted us the courage of our convictions." - Pastors Dennis and Christine Wiley, in a lengthy Washington Post editorial explaining why their black DC church supports marriage equality.

Friendly Voices - Hendrik Gideonse

"During the campaign I made a practice of stopping at homes where Yes on 1 signs were posted and performed a small act of ‘bearing witness.’ I would ring the doorbell, excuse the interruption, and make the point that I wanted to see what a voter in contemporary America looked like who would publicly announce that they thought neither my son nor my god-daughter was equal to them in civil terms. The responses were as telling as the nastiness and smugness of so many of the comments posted here. Some people were simply stunned that I would perform such an act of conscience on their doorstep. Some cited Romans I to me. Others smiled their broad, born-again smiles seemingly treating me like a little child who didn’t know any better and could therefore be forgiven, or facilely informed me that God loved the sinner but not the sin.

"Given the work of the Catholic (oxymoron!) Church and all the other so-called christians in Maine and elsewhere who would seek to impose their personal religious views on members of my immediate family by denying them civil rights most of the rest of us enjoy, I take this first opportunity to renounce my Calvinist baptism. It won’t stop me from working to achieve the end of equality for all, but I can continue to do it without a designation that has, in recent years, become deeply objectionable to me because of the decidedly un-christian attitudes and acts of those similarly designated." - Hendrik Gideonse, in a comment left on the Bangor Daily News. Gideonse is the father of JMG reader and fellow blogger Ted Gideonse.