25 Hillary Clinton Quotes on LGBT Rights

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the United Nations in December 2011 to mark the 63rd anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

These are 25 of the most noteworthy statements she made in her remarks. Watch a video of the address and/or read the full text.

“It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation.”

“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.”

“My own country’s record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect.”

“Gay rights and human rights are…one and the same.”

“Being LGBT does not make you less human.”

“It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay.”

“It is a violation of human rights when lesbian or transgendered women are subjected to so-called corrective rape.”

“Being gay is not a Western invention; it is a human reality.”

“Costs are incurred whenever any group is treated as lesser or the other, whether they are women, racial, or religious minorities, or the LGBT.”

“Violence toward women isn’t cultural; it’s criminal.”

“What was once justified as sanctioned by God is now properly reviled as an unconscionable violation of human rights.”

“No practice or tradition trumps the human rights that belong to all of us.”

“Caring for others is an expression of what it means to be fully human.”

“It is because the human experience is universal that human rights are universal.”

“No one has ever abandoned a belief because he was forced to do so.”

“While we are each free to believe whatever we choose, we cannot do whatever we choose.” 

“Laws that discriminate validate other kinds of discrimination.” 

“Laws that require equal protections reinforce the moral imperative of equality.”

“It is often the case that laws must change before fears about change dissipate.”

“Often those who are denied rights are least empowered to bring about the changes they seek.”

“Acting alone, minorities can never achieve the majorities necessary for political change.”

“When any part of humanity is sidelined, the rest of us cannot sit on the sidelines.”

“In the fight for women’s rights, the support of men remains crucial.”

“It should never be a crime to be gay.

“All people deserve to be treated with dignity and have their human rights respected, no matter who they are or whom they love.”