Theresa Sparks

"[The gay community can] fight for our rightful voice, or we can continue to … slap one another and one day find ourselves without the electoral base to sustain the voice we already have."

"The lack of political attention to candidates and issues, history has shown us, is a sure-fire way to end up left out of the policy debates altogether."

"We need to continue to educate our elected officials and candidates for office on who we are, what we need and why they should stand in solidarity with us."

"Our community is organized, it’s strong, it’s paying attention and it needs to ensure a place at the political table, now and for future generations of transgender leaders."

"We were fed up being harassed and strip-searched by the police, denied medical treatment, refused housing and even barred from using public bathrooms just because we were trans. We were tired of being beaten and murdered. So we went out and worked."