His mother talked about his sexual preference - mostly in the context of him being quite masculine, and how people often couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that he was gay because of it. He liked a lot of things straight men like (sports, etc.), and she was explaining that a lot of gay men like those things.
For those wondering about Lisa Beamer - I wondered, too, so I Googled her name last night and noticed she took some pretty nasty criticism from the left for her media appearances.
They were probably fine with her until President Bush asked her to attend and stand at the SOTU (if I remember correctly). One article I read was quite vile and catty.
Who knows the kind of remarks/threats she experienced privately?
Maybe they succeeded in silencing her. I'm probably way off base, but that's a guess.