When Time Magazine named Evan Wolfson as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, it was for making an impossible idea—marriage for gay people—conceivable. Wolfson is the Martin Luther King Jr. of the modern fight for the marriage right. There is no state or legal battle that does not involve Wolfson’s work, either directly or through his unavoidable precedents.
Wolfson’s organization, Freedom to Marry, is completely geared up to fight the bigots who are trying to overturn California’s marriage law. They need your donations. Now.
So Mr. Wolfson, one of the most influential people in the world, I have five questions for you:
A. How fragile values we treasure as Americans are — personal freedom, the separation of church and state that assures religious as well as personal freedom, constitutional checks and balances. These things can be lost, and it is reckless to play with fire near them, as some in our country do.
A. Israeli — though it would be wonderful to have European citizenship, too
A. That I wouldn’t like to serve in Congress.
Q. Is there anyone’s death, either in your life or in popular culture, whose passing you were surprised by how profoundly it affected you?
A. For over ten years now, I’ve carried in my wallet a clipping of the New York Times headline from an obituary that appeared in 1997; I always thought I’d like it for my own. It reads: “Bao Dai, 83, of Vietnam; Emperor and Bon Vivant.”
A. Yes, in college I worked to become Speaker of the Political Union. I was proud to be elected, did some great projects with close friends (who remain friends to this day), and enjoyed serving. But I remember the feeling of discovery that far from being the pinnacle I had imagined, the actual office meant less to me than the experience and friendships themselves.
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PEOPLE – A SERIES
- JIMMY WALES – Citizen of the world, sage to millions of editors of Wikipedia, which he founded…I have five questions for you.
- BILLY NAME – Famous Warhol live-in photographer; silverized the Factory; shot the cover of the Velvet Underground’s eponymous album; iconic portraits of Lou Reed and Edie Sedgwick…I have five questions for you.
Making out in public – good or bad?
Obama Condoms in Union Square
New York City – water shots 3
RNC characterizes Republican base as ‘Reactionary’ and ‘Ego-Driven’
Celebrities and downtown denizens salute 25 years of Michael Musto
Is it okay to be fat? A response to Nightline
Submission, domination and pop culture
Woman tweets her abortion
