"In the Examiner, Kevin Starr defames and libels gays. In the Chronicle, Charles McCabe warns us to be quiet, that talking about gay rights is counter-productive. To Mr. McCabe, I say that the day he stops talking about freedom is the day he no longer has it. The blacks [sic] did not win their rights by sitting quietly in the back of the bus. They got off!! Gay people, we will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets... we are coming out! We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions! We are coming out to tell the truth about gays! For I’m tired of the conspiracy of silence. I’m tired of listening to the Anita Bryants twist the language and the meaning of the Bible to fit their own distorted outlook. But I’m even more tired of the silence from the religious leaders of this nation who know that she is playing fast and loose with the true meaning of the Bible. I’m tired of their silence more than of her biblical gymnastics!"
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United States Navy peopleLGBT rights activistsHuman rights activistsActivists from San FranciscoPoliticians from San Francisco
Original Language: English
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As quoted by Liz Tracey, Milk’s Gay Freedom Day Speech: Annotated, JSTOR, 13 June 2022
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
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Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk (22 May 1930 – 27 November 1978) was an American politician and gay rights activist, and the first openly gay city supervisor of San Francisco, California. He was assassinated in 1978, and is commonly seen as a martyr to the LGBT community.
24 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Harvey Milk →
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