“It's a historic method of tyranny to make you feel that you are alone. One of the things that this resolution does for people everywhere, particularly LGBT people everywhere, is remind them that they are not alone.”

—DANIEL BAER, U.S. deputy assistant secretary, on the passage of a U.N. resolution put forth by South Africa and supported by 23 countries endorsing for the first time the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people. The declaration expressed "grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity," and commissioned a global report on discrimination against gays. More importantly, it also established a formal process for documenting human rights abuses against gay and lesbian individuals. [via AP]