On the final day of the 65th annual Conference on World Affairs, panelists spoke about their experiences in the gay community and what it means to be gay in a changing political and social climate.

The panel was held in Old Main from 1-2:20 p.m. on Friday. Charles Steinberg moderated the panel, which featured speakers Joel Gallant, Peter Lighte, Tammy Schultz and Sanho Tree.

Here are some key moments from the panel: 

Gallant

“If we could eliminate stigma and homophobia tomorrow, it would still be hard to be a young gay kid.”

“[Being] gay today depends on who you are, where you live and how much money you have.”

Lighte

On his experience about being a parent: “If somebody asks you or your kid, ‘Where’s the mother?’ is if you hesitate, then there’s something wrong.”

On being a parent: “The world gets different and delightfully ordinary.”

Schultz

“I didn’t come out until I was twenty-eight partly because I have Evangelical parents, and partly because I thought I could just be a workaholic and not have to deal with the other part of [being lesbian].”

“Given the fields I run in [military], I knew nothing would change if they didn’t know anybody who was gay.”

Tree

On Leviticus: “Imagine if that book had never been written. What would our politics look like today?”

“We’ve gone backwards in some ways. I look at social media apps, and it’s disturbing the way people describe themselves. When I hear “masculine” it’s the new light skin — a way to pass.”

 Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Bethany Morris at Bethany.morris@colorado.edu.