I believe all Americans who believe in freedom tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation.

We the People recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights that our destinies are bound together that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me a freedom without a commitment to others a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism is unworthy of our founding ideals and those who died in their defense.

I am involved in a freedom ride protesting the loss of the minority rights belonging to the few remaining earthbound stars. All we demanded was our right to twinkle.

When I said a few weeks ago that our people would eat cooking oil and olives if necessary I didn't mean that there really would be only oil and olives. What I meant was that our people have the necessary patience to endure the current difficult situation. Palestinians would rather do without certain food items than their national rights.

It was very clear to me in 1965 in Mississippi that as a lawyer I could get people into schools desegregate the schools but if they were kicked off the plantations - and if they didn't have food didn't have jobs didn't have health care didn't have the means to exercise those civil rights we were not going to have success.

If you don't want women to do whatever they need to do then you must provide them with food you must provide them with shelter and their basic human rights.

We have not sought this conflict we have sought too long to avoid it our forbearance has been construed into weakness our magnanimity into fear until the vindication of our manhood as well as the defence of our rights is required at our hands.

As long as enough people can be frightened then all people can be ruled. That is how it works in a democratic system and mass fear becomes the ticket to destroy rights across the board.

'Freedom from fear' could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights.

Maya Angelou the famous African American poet historian and civil rights activist who is hailed be many as one of the great voices of contemporary literature believes a struggle only makes a person stronger.

The records of adopted children are sealed in California. That seal is considered inviolable... The judge ruled that because I was famous he didn't have the same rights as other kids.

Life is not a matter of place things or comfort rather it concerns the basic human rights of family country justice and human dignity.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights describes the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society. It follows that any choice and decision with regard to the size of the family must irrevocably rest with the family itself and cannot be made by anyone else.

The civil rights movement was based on faith. Many of us who were participants in this movement saw our involvement as an extension of our faith. We saw ourselves doing the work of the Almighty. Segregation and racial discrimination were not in keeping with our faith so we had to do something.

The Constitution was the expression not only of a political faith but also of political fears. It was wrought both as the organ of the national interest and as the bulwark of certain individual and local rights.

My mother's family were full-on Irish Catholics - faith in an elaborate old fashioned highly conservative and madly baroque style. I sort of fell out of the tribe over women's rights and social justice issues when I was just 13 years old.

By gold all good faith has been banished by gold our rights are abused the law itself is influenced by gold and soon there will be an end of every modest restraint.

Let me go over this again on the reclaiming the civil rights movement. People of faith that believe that you have an equal right to justice - that is the essence. And if it's not the essence then we've been sold a pack of lies. The essence is everyone deserves a shot - the content of character not the color of skin.

And it's one thing to give people freedom and something else to deny the rights of Christians to assert their faith in order to keep Hindus from feeling upset.

Although we have in theory abolished human slavery recognized women's rights and stopped child labor we continue to enslave other species who if we simply pay attention show quite clearly that they experience parental love pain and the desire for freedom just as we do.

Making movies is a very different experience in a lot of ways. It's difficult when you're used to owning the copyright and having a landlord's possessory rights - I rent my plays to the companies that do them and if I'm upset I can pull the play. But the only two directors I've worked with are pretty great.

A commitment to human rights cannot be fostered simply through the transmission of knowledge. Action and experience play a crucial role in the learning process.

The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality basic human rights freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

My image had always been very heterosexual very straight. So it was a nice experience for me a chance to clarify my own feelings about gay and lesbian civil rights.