Barney Frank Quotes

There are tons of gay issues that are important, from gay marriage to adoption rights to work-place discrimination and more... but I think the biggest gay issue is the level of involvement of the gay community to demand change. So many gays think that other gays will take care of it. To fix this, people need to realize that they CAN make a change, but no one person can do it alone.

A lot of people criticized me for speaking out, not long ago, about gay marriage. I could not remain silent any longer. It's the civil rights of our day. It's the issue of our day.

The last time I checked, the only difference between my gay friends and I is who we choose to love. I'm not sure how that warrants a loss of rights, but it needs to stop. What ever happened to liberty and justice for all?

If I was gay, I would be the best gay of all history.

I knew that I was gay in every bone of my body. So I did the only thing I could do. I started the movement.

Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in. Once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and all. And once you do, you will feel so much better

You have to take your hat off to the homosexual and gay community cause right now they're as strong as black people USE to be when it comes to their rights.

I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they'll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects I hope that every professional gay will say 'enough', come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help.

I'm honestly not the kind of person who wants to step up to a podium, test the microphone and be like, 'Hey, I'm homosexual and this is who I am, hear me roar.' That's not who I am.

I want to make films that make a difference. I want to be out and hope that that will make things better for gay people and for myself. I hope one day I can start to make the kind of projects or be involved with kind of projects that can really make a difference.

One thing the gay rights movement taught the world is the importance of being visible.

I don't believe that if I came out as bisexual the world will change. But it's really important for people to be truthful about who they are and fight for equality. We need to help the world usher itself into the next phase.

Thanks to every gay person in public and non-public life who has come out.

Being from New York, if you're gay, you're gay. I think it's important that if you are gay, you not be afraid to say who you are.

There is nobody on this planet who was ever liberated by an athlete or an entertainer.

These are the times for real choices and not false ones. We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest

Democratic rights develop when the ruled demand them and have the means to prevail.

I not only advocate it now, but have advocated it earnestly for the last fifty years. As to the militant suffragettes, I have noted that many women believe in militant methods. You might advocate one way of securing the rights and I might advocate another, they both might help to bring about the result desired. To win freedom always involves hard fighting. I believe in women doing what they deem necessary to secure their rights.

You may hiss as much as you please, but women will get their rights anyway. You can’t stop us, neither

There's kind of a gift in being gay because, if you come out, you're forced to express yourself.

When your doctor and neighbours and child's schoolteachers know you are gay, there is no closet for you to hide in.

Saying to someone 'I'm a transsexual' is the most empowering thing I've ever felt in my whole life.

Gays and lesbians gained rights in this country though activism and organizing, creating political space and demanding change so that lawmakers and justices could do what they knew was right. That organizing allowed Americans to get to know gays and lesbians as our daughters and sons, our neighbors, and our friends.

The rainbow flag is a symbol of freedom and liberation that we made for ourselves.

Being gay isn't something you choose, but you do face choices about whether and how to discuss it.