Former State Treasurer Jim Hill speaks to a key component of equality when he says, "Regardless of other people's opinions of me, as an American citizen I have the same rights as anyone else."

Hill knows the long road to equality intimately. When he first started his tenure at the state capital as a representative, the year was 1983. He was the first African American ever elected to Oregon state government, a full 20 years after the famous Civil Rights March on Washington. He was one of the primary sponsors of Oregon's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the Anti-Apartheid Act.

The first time he addressed gay-rights issues was in relation to Oregon's anti-discrimination law. The gay community wanted sexual orientation added to the state's anti-harassment statute, but the legislature voted it down. Hill, who firmly believes that "all of us have our rights or none of us do," joined the minority report on this vote and received an award from the ACLU for standing with the gay community.

"You see gay people going through the same things as African Americans," says the 60-year-old. "When I was growing up, it was against the law to marry interracially."

Hill is adamant that civil rights should not be left up to majority vote. "If you wait for everyone's approval, you're not going to get it."

"We're talking about government here," he says. "Gay people are treated as second class citizens by our government and denied critical services that others receive. That's just not right."