“Every one of my positions cuts out half the country. I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-gay rights, I'm pro-immigration, I'm against guns, I believe in Darwin.”— Mike Bloomberg, inc.com
“This year’s Pride Month comes 50 years after the Stonewall Inn uprising in New York City, a touchstone moment that helped define the course of the LGBTQ movement.”— Lucy Diavolo, teenvogue.com
“It’s this willingness to make a blood sacrifice of minorities in exchange for 'normalcy' or prosperity that has observers drawing uncomfortable comparisons between then and now.”— The Conversation, theconversation.com
“In most of the world, it’s still not cool to be gay. You can be murdered in these places. You can be thrown in jail. Being gay in San Francisco is fun. Being gay in Saudi Arabia—that's a whole other matter.”— Gilbert Baker, time.com
“The big thing is to make this country, along with every other country in the world with a few exceptions, quit discriminating against people just because they're gay. You don't have to agree with it, but they have a constitutional right to be gay.”— Barry Goldwater, washingtonpost.com
“Having spent 37 years of my life in the military as a reservist, and never having met a gay in all of that time, and never having even talked about it in all those years, I just thought, why the hell shouldn't they serve? They're American citizens. As long as they're not doing things that are harmfu…”— Barry Goldwater, washingtonpost.com
“You don't need to be 'straight' to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.”— Barry Goldwater, news.google.com
“So if there’s a message I have to give, it is that I found one overriding thing about my personal election. It’s the fact that if a gay person can be elected, it’s a green light.”— Harvey Milk, mfa.org
“I will never forget what it was like coming out and having nobody to look up toward.”— Harvey Milk, mfa.org
“The first gay people we elect must be strong. They must not be content to sit in the back of the bus. They must not be content to accept pabulum.”— Harvey Milk, mfa.org
“A gay person in office can set a tone, can command respect, not only from the larger community, but from the young people in our own community who need both examples and hope.”— Harvey Milk, mfa.org
“And the time has come when the gay community must not be judged for our criminals and our myths. Like every other group, we must be judged by our leaders and by those who are themselves gay, those who are visible.”— Harvey Milk, mfa.org
“Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people’s opinion.”— Harvey Milk, mfa.org
“From the time I was a kid, I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being…by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list…”— Paul Newman, amazon.com