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)