Hands Down, the Single Best Quote of 2014

After this year, some people should have their public speaking credentials revoked (e.g. Sarah Palin), while others left us wishing for permanent soapboxes. In a year of unrelenting marriage battles, transgender discrimination, and homophobia in sports, our brightest leaders represented us the best way they can -- by being out and loud and eloquent.

There was one comment, though, that rose above the rest, and this speaker's words weren't delivered via Twitter or Facebook, but in person, in Las Vegas during a Human Rights Campaign event in front of an audience to which she became an example. The mighty message came from petite Ellen Page, who shook up the way celebs tend to come out of the closet these days. For starters, the actress acknowledged, "I'm tired of lying by omission."

For her honesty about the effects of the closet, and the impact her words have had on other celebrities and regular folks, Ellen Page has our quote of the year. Her complete quote:

"I'm here because I'm gay. I am tired of hiding, and I'm tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered, and my relationships suffered. And I'm standing here today with all of you on the other side of that pain."

See our other favorite quotes of 2014 on the following pages.

"I'm going to go through them very briefly now because I think -- to quote my 8-year-old son, Jacob, I think the answer to almost all of them is 'doi.'"

--Attorney Roberta Kaplan arguing against Mississippi's marriage ban and going through the reasons why laws affecting gay and lesbian people should be held to higher scrutiny, November

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"What would Jesus do with our sons and daughters who are bullied, homeless, sexually abused, and driven to suicide at far higher rates than our heterosexual children?... We believe this is an opportune moment for the church to boldly proclaim a pastoral, grace-filled readiness to include both homosexuals and heterosexuals within the blessing of a marriage covenant designed to be wholesome and God-honoring."

--Chester Wenger, a 96-year-old former Mennonite minister defrocked for officiating his gay son's wedding, writing in a November column for The Mennonite

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"Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It's made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It's been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It's also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you're the CEO of Apple."

--Apple CEO Tim Cook, coming out publicly in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, October

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"I want to thank the Jones family and the entire Cowboys organization for this opportunity, as well as my friends, family, teammates, and fans for their support. While this is disappointing, I will take the lessons I learned here in Dallas and continue to fight for an opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday."

--Out football player Michael Sam, in a series of tweets, on being cut from the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad in October

--Pope Francis, admonishing conservative bishops who rolled back an effort to include historic Vatican language more accepting of homosexuality, October

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"We seriously doubt that allowing committed same-sex couples to settle down in legally recognized marriages will drive opposite-sex couples to sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll."

--Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt in a written response rejecting Idaho governor Butch Otter's assertion that same-sex marriage will harm heterosexual families, October

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"No. Are you still straight if you are with somebody -- if you were to break up with them or if they were to die, it doesn't prevent your sexuality from existing. It doesn't really work like that."

--Anna Paquin to Larry King, explaining that being monogamously married doesn't make her a "nonpracting bisexual," July

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"'Was a boy until 18.'" @PiersMorganLive get it the f*k together."

--Transgender advocate Janet Mock tweeting a response to a sensational teaser for an episode of Piers Morgan Live in which she appeared as a guest, February

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"By focusing on bodies, we don't focus on the lived realities of that oppression and that discrimination."

--Transgender actress Laverne Cox, responding to Katie Couric's invasive questions about genitalia during an episode of Katie, January