16 Inspiring Pride Quotes Celebrating LGBTQ Love

It's dark moments in history like the Orlando shooting, moments following tragedies caused by hate, that the country needs to stand strong, united, and inspired to make a change. But if you find yourself, like millions of other people around the world, feeling hopeless and disheartened, let these inspiring LGBTQ Pride quotes bring a little love and hope into your life.

It's easy to be overwhelmed with sadness, confusion, and anger after the attack on Pulse's gay nightclub in Orlando. A tragic event that killed 49 people and injured another 53, the mass shooting is the deadliest attack in recent history in the United States, and it has left the entire nation heartbroken and outraged. But madness breeds madness, and hate breeds hate, so instead of focusing on the negative, we should take a moment to show our solidarity and our pride for the community most impacted by the events.

June is Pride month, which means that we should be spending the month honoring, celebrating, and supporting the LGBTQ community. An annual event that was born out of another attack on the gay community, the Stonewall riots of 1968, this year's Pride month seems especially important in the face of recent events. If there was ever a time to proudly fly your rainbow flag, this is it.

From the mouths of authors, politicians, activists, and artists, here are 16 inspiring LGBTQ Pride quotes that will lift your spirit and fill your heart with hope and love.

1. "Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start."

— Jason Collins

2. "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."

— Harvey Milk

3. "What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it's curved like a road through mountains.”

— Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

4. "The pressures on gay teens can be overwhelming — to keep secrets, tell lies, deny who you are, and try to be who you're not. Remember: you are special and worth being cared about, loved, and accepted just as you are. Never, ever let anyone convince you otherwise."

― Alex Sanchez

5. "You are not a bad person because you are gay. You are you because you are you and you were meant to be you so be you proudly."

― Tegan Quin

6. "Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

— Bob Paris

7. "Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."

— Harvey Fierstein

8. "I am a strong, black, lesbian woman. Every single time I say it, I feel so much better."

— Brittney Griner

9. "Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self."

— Viktor E. Frankl

10. "In itself, homosexuality is as limiting as heterosexuality: the ideal should be to be capable of loving a woman or a man; either, a human being, without feeling fear, restraint, or obligation."

— Simone de Beauvoir

11. "I’ve been scared and battered.My hopes the wind done scattered.Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me,Looks like between ’em they doneTried to make meStop laughin’, stop lovin’, stop livin’–But I don’t care! I’m still here!"

— Langston Hughes, "Still Here"

12. "When all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free."

— U.S. President Barack Obama

13. "The only way I’m trying to influence people is to be more kind and compassionate with one another. That is the message that I’m sending out. I don't have an agenda. I'm not here to brainwash anyone. I want you to live your lives being exactly who you are. Be true to yourself. The most important thing is to be true to yourself."

— Ellen DeGeneres

14. "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.”

— Tammy Baldwin

15. "Being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights."

— Hillary Clinton

16. "I say that homosexuality is not just a form of sex, it’s a form of love, and it deserves our respect for that reason."

— Christopher Hitchens

Images: naeimasgary, nancydowd/Pixabay; Stanley Dai/Unsplash