"The plane took off at 8:10 in the morning - or that's when it was scheduled to take off. And that's when I believe it took off. I had been in my office at the Department of Justice. Someone told me that there had been the two strikes that occurred at the World Trade Center."

"The very idea of marriage is basic to recognition as equals in our society any status short of that is inferior, unjust, and unconstitutional."

"The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that marriage is one of the most fundamental rights that we have as Americans under our Constitution."

"Another argument, vaguer and even less persuasive, is that gay marriage somehow does harm to heterosexual marriage. I have yet to meet anyone who can explain to me what this means. In what way would allowing same-sex partners to marry diminish the marriages of heterosexual couples?"

"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."

"A heart touched by genuine kindness never loses its warmth."

"I have been thinking about the notion of perfect love as being without fear, and what that means for us in a world that's becoming increasingly xenophobic, tortured by fundamentalism and nationalism."

"I come from that society and there is a common thread, specifically family values - the idea that you do anything for your family, and the unconditional love for one's children."