How Did The Stonewall Riots Affect The Gay Rights Movement

People in countries all over the world are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, and it is important to honor and remember what sparked the riot that started the gay rights movement off running. Stonewall is a detailed and complete explanation of how and why things boiled over to begin the United State’s battle for LGBTQ+ rights, making it an optimal contender on the list of things to use to expand one’s knowledge and respect for the community and it’s history.

Stonewall: the Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, was written by David Carter in New York, and published in 2004. This book serves the purpose of identifying Stonewall as the starting point for the modern gay revolution as a whole. It argues that the riots set a spark that ignited America in favor of homosexual rights as well as political and social opportunity. This book is valuable because it not only acknowledges the riots at Stonewall as important, but shows how they transformed homosexual life and the movement entirely. Carter persuades readers to see New York as a venue for revolution, and acknowledges the challenges faced throughout the beginning of the movement,

In the book Gay Rights it states, “In 1969, the year the stonewall rebellion occurred, there were only 50 gays and lesbian organizations with a few thousands of members in the entire country.” It means that they were finally taking a stand and ready to fight back. What happened in the Stonewall is in June 28 1969 there was a gay club called the Stonewall. Police started to attack the gay and lesbians. Then after that the crowd of people started to throw bottles at the police. If I was there I would have done so much worse than that. There is one of the main events in the 1960’s Gay

Early in the morning of June 28, 1969, the habitual bar raids continued to occur in the streets of New York. However, one raid soon took a different turn compared to all the previous raids. The LGBT community had enough and decided to take a stand against the unjust acts of the New York Police Department, which would forever change LGBT history. The Stonewall Riots were preceded by several years of mistreatment, and began when a beloved gay bar was raided; this created a major impact on LGBT rights and activism.

The conditions faced by queer people leading up to the stonewall riots were appalling. Laws and Statutes made it legal to discriminate against LGBT+ individuals based on dress and behavior and to limit other basic freedoms as well. In the 50’s and 60’s, 49 of 50 states in the United States had some form of law that stated homosexuality was illegal and was punishable by fines or imprisonment (Staff). Up until 1987, homosexuality was considered a mental illness in the DSM (American Classification of Mental Disorders). In following, it was illegal to serve gay people alcohol in New York City up until 1966, thirty three years after prohibition was repealed (History). Under the statement that the gathering

Stonewall is known as the riot that kickstarted the movement for gay rights in America in 1969. Throughout the 1960’s the gay community was targeted for their homosexual activities because this went against the common beliefs of the people. Most of the population had the Christian belief that being interested in the same sex was against God’s will. This caused discrimination throughout the nation between members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender plus (LGBT+) community and the rest of the country. Due to this discrimination, many LGBT+ members felt like their rights were being violated by the government. On June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, New York City, the community decided to fight back for their rights. They

The Stonewall Riots in 1969 taught homosexuals that it was important to create and maintain a visible, out of the closet, LGBT counterculture that was inseparable from other underrepresented groups (Rimmerman, 24). This was the goal of most LGBT activism after the riots. This was done with grassroots organizing. As Harvey Milk said, "We must continue to educate" (The Times of Harvey Milk). It was the job of each and every homosexual to come

It was approximately three a.m. on the twenty-eighth of June, 1969 when outside the Stonewall Inn, a monumental riot began. On Christopher Street in New York City, a police raid had just taken place in the gay bar due to the selling of liquor without a license, and arrests were made to anyone without a minimum of three articles of gender appropriate clothing on in accordance to New York law. This was one of several police raids that occurred in a gay bar in such a small amount of time, and the LGBT community made their anger very clear that morning. The event that took place as a result of these raids known as the Stonewall Riots became the catalyst for the Gay Liberation Front, and the Gay Activist Alliance, as well as many new

The Stonewall Riots marked the start of the gay rights movement, and inspired members of the gay community to fight for their rights instead of being condemned for their

There are certainly various points in history that can be construed as trailblazing for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. One event in particular, however, sparked awareness and a call to action that previously could never have been conceptualized in the United States. This unforgettable incident, the Stonewall riots of 1969, altered the public’s view of the gay community and arguably jumpstarted the next revolution in an entirely new civil rights movement.

The LGBTQ+ community had fought for rights throughout history so that they would be able to live “normal” lives. By the end of the 1960’s the Stonewall riots created a movement that inspired people of the

Shortly after this act, practicing ‘sexual deviants’ enlisted within the U.S Civil Service had been immediately fired after an investigation consisting of 192 suspects, most of which lost their posts after the accusations. These investigations began after a myriad of Republican accusations saying that the “Federal civil service was a hotbed of ‘sex perversion’”, (Belderman, ‘The Observer’), and were initiated by then-President Truman’s administration. During this time, the ownership of an alcohol license was immensely important, and could be revoked upon recognition that the bar was ‘disorderly’. Up until the year 1967, selling alcohol to homosexuals could result in a bar being deemed disorderly, thus closing it down. While the state of New York overturned this law, a multitude of other states such as Miami maintained them, hence prohibiting the liquor licenses to, “knowingly sell to, serve to or allow consumption of alcoholic beverages by a homosexual person, lesbian or pervert … or to knowingly allow two or more persons who are homosexuals, lesbians or perverts to remain in his place of business”. However, the removal of this law in New York did not stop the constant raids on rumoured gay bars and clubs, resulting in the abolishment of these businesses’ alcohol licenses, and the arrest of countless individuals found inside. Those arrested thought to be gay had their names published in reports and newspapers, ensuing a possible job loss the following

The increase in support can be seen through the number of people who attend pride parades each year, which are now taking place in almost every country nowadays. The growth of the gay rights supporters compared to amount at the first pride parade in 1970 displays that the lives of the LGBT are being acknowledged and will continue to be spread and talked about in earnest as things progress for their community (Hirshman). The major shift from the 1960s race, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination to the acknowledgement of women’s rights and needs, African American opportunities and equality, and increase in trans and gay rights in the present show that the civil rights movement of Stonewall, Black rights, and women’s equality had a major effect on the future of society today (Williams). The effects of the Stonewall Riots can also be seen through the Supreme Court’s legalization of same sex marriage in all states in 2015. This is the biggest change in the journey for gay liberation in America and it’s evidence of the growing support that began with the riots and has continued on to the present.

The Stonewall Protests were a series of riots fighting for gay rights in New York City in 1969. The riots at the bar were a major starting point for the fight for equality in the United States. Through the brave citizens who fought for their rights to be equal to everyone else, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, + (LGBTQ+) are so much evident in today’s society. LGBTQ+ rights are not avoided anymore due to the fight for everyone to be created equal, just like what the constitution states. The Stonewall Protests have affected LGBTQ+ rights today because gay marriage is now legal and accepted in the U.S, kids in the LGBTQ+ community can live in a safer environment, and 200 U.S. cities have banned gender identity discrimination.

In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people