I like Richard Gere as both an actor and as an activist. I have no idea if he is a bisexual who preferred to live and love women as he has done, or what. I frankly don't care what his story is.

I do care that when AND THE BAND PLAYED ON, he was willing to play a cameo role as an actor with AIDS. I know that he is a Tibetan Buddhist and that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama is his spiritual mentor.

One thing for sure, despite a possible time when he was more than curious, Richard Gere has been a champion of LGBT rights for decades.

Frankly, he looks sexier now at middle age than before.

Hmmm. Gere is a mixed bag. Yes, he's spoken very affirmatively about gay equality, continues to work against AIDS generally, and I regret not having seen him on Broadway as the gay concentration camp inmate in "Bent." [The delectable Clive Owen played the role very well in the poorly executed movie version. Minor sidenote, Gere played a choreographer, not actor, in "...Band Plays On."]

But where is the criticism for he and then-wife Cindy Crawford spending $30,000 on a full-page "London Times" ad in 1994 to declare,

"We are HETEROSEXUAL and monogamous and take our commitment to each other very seriously. Reports of a divorce are totally false. We remain very married. We both look forward to having a family. Marriage is hard enough without all these NEGATIVE speculations." Emphasis mine.

Why, Mr. Gere, Mr. Cruise, Ms. Winfrey, is anyone or many someones claiming you're gay "negative"?

The Dalai Lama is troublesome, too, and perhaps that has contributed to the mixed messages sent by his follower. While saying very positive things about society accepting gays, etc., there remains some holes in the positions of His Holiness. He's written, "homosexuality, whether it is between men or between women, is not improper in itself. What is improper is the use of organs already defined as inappropriate for sexual contact." He later allegedly clarified that he meant it was only improper for Buddhists—which would include Gere—but still…. [He also teaches that masturbation is wrong.]

Better than the demonizations of all by RATzinger and his religious thugs, but still too unacceptable to leave the Tibetan and the Tibetan lover bathed entirely in adoration.

"…but he would probably help out if they were short handed". That's pretty funny!

I vividly recall the full-page ad that didn't come cheap, a declaration of hetero status. Anyone who didn't know Gere was gay prior to that should have wised up after.

You're right David, that's a wonderful way of saying it. I'll have to remember that.

I have never understood why gays have such a problem with straight people declaring their heterosexuality. I certainly am not interested in being perceived as heterosexual when i'm not.

The perception of homosexuality can have a very negative impact on a persons career, and until we deal with the inherent homophobia in society, nothing will ever change.

I have no problem with straight people declaring their heterosexuality. But what does that have to do with Richard Gere?

Leland – are you serious? You don't think it's negative for rumours to be spread that a married man is gay? Come off it and get off your silly high horse while you're at it.

I bet you'd be furious if a gay man insisted on reaffirming his homosexuality if there were rumours that he was having an affair with a woman – not….!

Richard is as gay as he was when he was a waiter in New York City, in the GAT village. He loves the steak with a bone.

Come on honey – time for Gere to open that closet door. That kiss he gave Jodie Foster was a joke. she is as gay as he is.