I don't have any respect for the Religious Right. There is no place in this country for practicing religion in politics. That goes for Falwell, Robertson, and all the rest of these political preachers. There are a detriment to the country.

A lot of so-called conservatives don't know what the word means. They think I've turned liberal because I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders of the Religious Right.

Everyone knows that gays have served honorably in the military since at least the time of Julius Caesar...You don't have to be straight to be in the military. You just have to be able to shoot straight.

I'm sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A, B, C, and D. Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of "conservatism."

--Senator Barry Goldwater