Quotes About Equality

The perfection of our union, especially our commitment to equality of opportunity, has been a story of constant striving to live up to our Founding principles. This is what Abraham Lincoln meant when he said, 'In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve.'

The United States and the European Union do want to have a rule of law, and that rule of law should be for a fair trial. And that fair trial needs to have an impartial jury.

As the son of a union activist and a lifelong Democrat, I've always thought that privatizing our public schools is not the answer. We must strengthen public schools.

In his State of the Union speech in January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt declared America's commitment to Four Freedoms in the struggle against Nazi totalitarianism. Among them was the freedom from fear.

Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union.

There are some folks at the teacher's union who aren't big fans of mine, in part, because I have been open and want to make sure everybody is sitting at the table as we talk about education.

Civil rights activists and union activists shared not just common values and objectives but also common enemies.

I worked at the New York Civil Liberties Union as a starving actor in the early '80s. I was in love with what they were doing.

There were two mentalities, and both mentalities had to change. There was what I called the Afrikaner mind set of the Unionist politicians, which was holding all power in their own hands, and discriminating, and their objective was to protect their identity.

I really can't imagine how anyone could, in good conscience, oppose the proposition that the states should be able to deny the status of marriage to same-sex unions.

Trade unions are a force for good - a force for a more equal society.

There was segregated unions, which was a real problem for me because - especially as I was working in the recording scene, I had flack from the white union for hiring black musicians. I had flack from the black musician by hiring white musicians.

I don't support gay marriage, but I also don't support a constitutional amendment banning it. However, I do support same sex unions that would give gay couples all the rights, privileges and protections of marriage.

I believe that the fact and the reality of homosexuality and heterosexuality and of opposite and same-gender unions should be taught in our public schools without a value judgement system also being offered.

In 2011, when the General Assembly passed the law allowing civil unions, Illinois took an important step forward to recognize that gay and lesbian couples have the right to build lives together and create strong, loving families.

I see the policy of opposing same-sex marriages or unions, whatever you call it, as bigotry or discrimination.

I certainly support civil unions.

The image of the unions is still not in tune with where we actually are, which is fifty-fifty men and women, with an increasing number of women at the top. I think it is changing, but I'm not complacent about this.

I don't think it's a great leap to go from civil unions to gay marriage - I may be in the minority in believing that.

Before there were unions, there was no middle class.

I'm a big believer in the value of labor unions and with what collective effort gets people.

Unions go hand-in-hand with a strong middle class.

Unions continue to be important for raising the standard of living for working Americans, whether or not they happen to be in a union.

While religious institutions should be able to pick and choose which unions they bless, civil governments should issue marriage licenses to all couples.