Being gay is not a Western invention. It is a human reality.
It should never be a crime to be gay.
No one has ever abandoned a belief because he was forced to do so.
It does not matter what country we live in, who our leaders are, or even who we are. Because we are human, we therefore have rights. And because we have rights, governments are bound to protect them.
LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones, and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage.
While we are each free to believe whatever we choose, we cannot do whatever we choose.
Like being a woman, like being a racial religious tribal or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights.
To LGBT men and women worldwide, let me say this: wherever you live and whatever the circumstances of your life, whether you are connected to a network of support or feel isolated and vulnerable, please know that you are not alone.
Costs are incurred whenever any group is treated as lesser or the other, whether they are women, racial, or religious minorities, or the LGBT.
No practice or tradition trumps the human rights that belong to all of us.
Acting alone, minorities can never achieve the majorities necessary for political change.
It is often the case that laws must change before fears about change dissipate.
It is because the human experience is universal that human rights are universal.
In the fight for women's rights, the support of men remains crucial.
Violence toward women isn't cultural; it's criminal.
All people deserve to be treated with dignity and have their human rights respected, no matter who they are or whom they love.
Laws that discriminate validate other kinds of discrimination.
My own country's record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect.
Often those who are denied rights are least empowered to bring about the changes they seek.
When any part of humanity is sidelined, the rest of us cannot sit on the sidelines.
Gay rights and human rights are one and the same.
There's the continuing challenges of racism, of sexism, of discrimination against the LGBT community, of the way that we treat people as opposed to how we want to be treated.
It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay.
Caring for others is an expression of what it means to be fully human.
We still have gaps that are rooted in gender inequality. Certainly we have discrimination against the LGBT community.
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