One of the fundamental necessities of a successful boycott is that a group must either include or attract enough regular customers to have an impact. Since virtually no group is sufficiently large by itself, enlisting the support of sympathetic allies is essential. Thus, publicizing the boycott is crucial. Coverage by the news media can raise awareness of the boycott and its rationale.

Proponents can make participation in a boycott directly known to the target organization by having supporters picket or send letters or other messages such as the PFLAG slips, but it is ultimately impossible to state with precision how much money the boycotters have withheld.

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Alexandra Chasin has stated that she has "never seen published evidence of a corporation's interpretation of reduced sales as a recognition of protest," adding that "whenever corporations admit that boycotts are having an effect, they always say that the effect is one of 'public relations,' consistently refuting boycotters' claims that a boycott's impact has been directly financial, and also refuting the logical inference that bad public relations would hurt sales."

Chasin observes that "whenever corporations do admit to reduced sales while a boycott is ongoing, they tend to give other accounts" for them. She points out that boycotts often, however, have "great symbolic value" and can cause serious public relations problems for an organization.

Boycotts can be very long campaigns and may or may not be acknowledged as a contributing factor if and when a company or institution decides to change its offending policies. They can, however, be regarded as a useful and often successful strategy of protest.

For glbt people, television talk shows are both promising and problematic; they have brought glbt issues to public awareness, but they have also presented glbt people as stereotypes and freaks.

The Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church in the U. S. A. is a part, has dealt with issues of sexuality in complex ways, not all of them favorable to its glbtq membership.

The centrality of gay and lesbian bars to glbtq culture has been reduced in recent years, but they continue to fulfill important functions; and, in many areas, they remain the most visible manifestation of glbtq presence.

The site of contentious battles for glbtq rights, Miami is home to a vibrant glbtq community; as is Key West, which has a long tradition of celebrating diversity.

Early in the gay rights movement activists challenged organized labor to broaden its struggle against discrimination to include sexual identity; consequently labor unions became some of the first mainstream organizations to call for equal rights.

An Evangelical Christian sect founded in the nineteenth century, the Salvation Army has recently become an arm of right-wing conservatism.

The Southern Baptists have become the most intolerant of the major American religious denominations, especially (but not exclusively) for their opposition to equal rights for gay men and lesbians.

Two of the most significant Supreme Court decisions regarding constitutional liberty for glbtq people are Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

Former beauty queen, popular singer, and orange juice pitchwoman, Anita Bryant became the poster-girl for homophobia in the late 1970s; her name continues to be a byword for bigotry.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is a watchdog group dedicated to promoting accurate representations of the glbtq community in the media.

Publisher David Goodstein transformed The Advocate into the leading American gay newsmagazine.

The largest glbtq political organization in the United States, the Human Rights Campaign has emerged as the leading national organization representing glbtq concerns.

Los Angeles activist Morris Kight, a determined and courageous--if sometimes eccentric--fighter for glbtq rights, worked for decades in the struggle for equality.

The poems and songs of the amazingly prolific Rod McKuen express a bittersweet, aching tenderness that has endeared him to millions of fans.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States, was assassinated in San Francisco's City Hall, making him the American gay liberation movement's most visible martyr.

The oldest continuously operating national glbtq interest group, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has played a significant role in the development of the glbtq movement for equal rights.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), an American organization of some 460 affiliated chapters and 80,000 members, works to support glbtq people and their loved ones.

The Right Reverend Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man to be consecrated a bishop of the Episcopal Church, has earned strong support from members of his diocese, but has become a lightning rod for conservatives within the Anglican Communion.

Romer v. Evans (1996) marks the first time in its history that the U. S. Supreme Court recognized lesbians and gay men as worthy and deserving of equal rights.