“There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it’s now OK to express ourselves publicly. We make that day by doing things publicly ... until it’s simply the way things are.”

“I used language that trivialized the seriousness of the issue and did not communicate respect for the essential dignity of every human being as a person created in the image of God. I apologize for speaking in a way that did not reflect the standards which the Family Research Council and I embrace.”

“I didn’t fit into the popular group [in high school]. I wasn’t a hippie or a stoner, so I ended up being the weirdo. I was interested in classical ballet and music, and the kids were quite mean if you were different. I was one of those people that people were mean to. When that happened, instead of being a doormat, I decided to emphasize my differences. I didn’t shave my legs. I had hair growing under my arms. I refused to wear makeup, or fit the ideal of what a conventionally pretty girl would look like. So of course I was tortured even more, and that further validated my superiority and helped me to survive.”

“It never frustrated me. I never got upset behind it. For what reason? Why get upset because someone said you were gay or called you gay? That should upset me? Then it would be something negative to me, and it’s not. It’s just another rumor, like all the rest of them.”