The Fight For Gay Rights

The Stonewall Riots took place in Greenwich Village, New York in 1969. Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar run by the mafia, which outraged its many patrons and the people of the village. The patrons of the bar was not the only reason the Stonewall Inn got raided. Since it was illegal to sell alcohol to homosexuals, it was done illegally. The SLA, the state liquor authority, would not give liquor licenses to those who would sell to homosexuals. The Stonewall Inn owner, Fat Tony, combated this problem by saying the bar was a bottle club. A bottle club was where the patrons would bring their own bottles and get their alcohol from their privately owned stock. Violence broke out after 13 people were arrested and put into a wagon. "People in the crowd yelled at the police to stop. The officers responded by telling them to get off the street. Someone started throwing pocket change at the officers, and others began rocking the wagon" (Rede). Other villagers and patrons threw objects at the police, such as bricks and bottles, and chanted protests to the

Purpose: David Carter wrote “Stonewall” to function as a complete analyzation of the riots of 1969. He wanted to create a reliable source of education over the “what,when, where, why, how?” of Stonewall. To support this, Carter states in his prologue, “how these various strands [of homophobic events] eventually came together to create a turning point for the gay rights movement is the subject of this history”(2).

Another huge social and cultural change during this time was the gay liberation movement. During the 1960’s, many groups decided to fight for their rights and equality. One of these groups was the gay and lesbian members of society. Many of these individuals were discriminated against and had no rights, but they decided enough was enough. In the 1960’s, gays decided to begin the fight for their own rights. One example of this was made after New York officers decided to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York’s very own Greenwich Village on June 27, 1969. This type of raid was not unusual, being that many police officers made it a habit of raiding gay and lesbian bars. This became known as the “Stonewall Riot”, which many view as the starting point of the gay liberation movement. The gay liberation movement was the fight by gays and lesbians for equal rights, one of these rights being the right to not be discriminated against, and most importantly, to be able to openly “come out” to their family and friends. The gay liberation movement helped to impact our current times greatly. Today, a gay person has rights just like anyone else. A gay

Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their

The history of the gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. More accurately, the quest by gays to search out others like themselves and foster a feeling of identity has been around since then. It is an innovative movement that seeks to change existing norms and gain acceptance within our culture. By 1915, one gay person said that the gay world was a "community, distinctly organized" (Milestones 1991), but kept mostly out of view because of social hostility. According to the Milestones article, after World War II, around 1940, many cities saw their first gay bars open as many homosexuals began to start a networking system. However, their newfound visibility only backfired on them, as

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,

With reference to the Stonewall riots of 1969, it is important to understand that the riot by the Lesbian and Gay Rights Movement came at a time when the civil rights movement was in its high peak. The riots for equality by the Gay and Lesbian groups and activists came at a time when Americans minority groups were fighting for identity in the typical American culture. Then again, it is significant to note that the trends that surround the Stonewall riots were the intense hatred towards the homosexual individuals that had hit the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. The Gay and Lesbian people had to seek solace in Homosexual perceived bars and night clubs as they feared for their life due to their ‘awkward’ sexual orientation at the time (Ruta, 2013). Similarly, another trend that characterized the Stonewall riot was the Cold War policies that had earmarked Homosexual individuals and organization as security threats. With the rising tension due to the cold war, the United States government had blacklisted Gay and Lesbian groups and individuals as an easy target for blackmail by the Communist groups. As a result, they faced constant harassment from police in the 1940s all through to the Stonewall riot in 1969. The uprising is as a result of the civil rights movement that allowed for many minorities and interest groups to come out and fight for their rights.

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

The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar in New York City and it was the starting place of the Gay Liberation Movement. In the 1970s gay men and lesbians started wanting equality because they faced lots of legal discrimination. They didn’t have equal rights because they couldn’t even have consensual sex with their partners and it was illegal in almost all states. So in 1969 police raided the Stonewall Inn and gay men fought the police and proclaimed “Gay Power.” This event caused riots between the New York City police and all the gay residents.

Crime groups used the fragile times and division of the people to solicit money from gay clientele, and by the mid 60’s the Genovese crime family controlled more than half of the Greenwich Village gay bar including Stonewall Inn. Like some of the other inns Stonewall was a registered “bottle bar” or a bar that did not require a liquor license because its audience were to bring their own liquor. To keep the Inns false exclusivity and privacy the Genovese family would bribe the Sixth Precinct to keep quiet about what happens or more over what doesn’t happen at the Inn. Without the police the crime family could cut costs and blackmail those of a higher status for more money to keep their secret. Stonewall eventually became a very important part of Greenwich culture being cheap, large, and a place for runaway and homeless gay youth. Nevertheless, riots were still a part of the Greenwich lifestyle, usually the cops would tip off Mafia-ran bars, but in the case of the Stonewall Inn time wasn’t on their

The Stonewall Inn was a bar located New York that catered to the LGBT population, regular patrons included gay men, drag queens, and transgender women; all from various ethnic backgrounds. As a visible hub for the queer community, the Stonewall Inn was frequently raided by police due to the political climate and negative attitudes towards homosexuality. On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided and rather than accept the harassment by police, a group of customers took a stand and a riot broke out. This riot led to other demonstrations and protests by LGBT groups demanding civil rights. The Stonewall riots are considered the catalyst of the gay liberation movement and annual pride marches take place around the world to commemorate the

History.com notes this treatment saying, "the New York State Liquor Authority penalized and shut down establishments that served alcohol to known or suspected LGBT individuals, arguing that the mere gathering of homosexuals was “disorderly.” ” Due to the unjust treatment that the LGBTQ community faced, exampled through the treatment at Stonewall, it became a moment that they could seize and use to become a symbol of queer liberation. As Movement and Memory by Elizabeth Armstrong notes “That these conditions came together in New York in 1969, as opposed to in other cities at earlier was a result of historical and political processes: time and place mattered. Gay liberation was already underway in New York

Until the last half of the 20th century, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals were victims of discrimination in American society and in statutory laws, which limited their basic rights. On the night of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, and arrested three drag queens by using excessive force. Bar patrons and spectators, tired of police oppression, stood up and fought back. This was the first major protest based on equal rights for homosexuals. The Stonewall Riots became a turning point for the homosexual community in the United States sparking the beginning of the gay rights movement, and encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual, or "LGBT," to fight for their rights.

The gay liberation movement occurred in Greenwich Village, New York. In June 1969, police invaded the Stone Wall Inn, a bar for gays. The gay people at the club became angered by the police actions, because they felt that it was unprovoked harassment. They fought for several nights, refusing to have the bar closed. This incident, generally referred to as Stonewall, has been noted as the beginning of the awakening of gays into personal and sexual liberation.

Gay Americans had enough and were no longer going to live in fear or repression that society put on them. The riots took place at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village and are considered to be the single most important event that led to the liberation of homosexuals. Because of the police raid and the proceeding violent acts, it ignited a fire within the LGBT community that they were no longer going to stand for what they had gone through. They began building alliances with other civil rights groups and protesting in the streets. The Stonewall riots finally gave them a platform to make their voices heard and so began the start of working toward LGBT