This Is What Gay Liberatn Looked Like In The '70s

The Stonewall Rts, also lled the Stonewall Uprisg, took place on June 28, 1969, New York Cy, after police raid the Stonewall Inn, a lol gay club. The raid sparked a rt among bar patrons and neighborhood rints as police hled employe and patrons out of the bar, leadg to six days of protts and vlent clash. The Stonewall Rts served as a talyst for the gay rights movement. * gay liberation movement 70s *

For more about the project, see our troductn to the seri, where you'll also fd a handy list of all the seri' piec so 1960s me to a close wh what is still perhaps the most nsequential event recent Amerin gay history: the Stonewall rts of June 28, Charl Kaiser put his history of gay New York, "No other civil rights movement Ameri ever had such an improbable unveilg: an urban rt sparked by drag queens.

That's not to say that progrs followed a clear urse: The 1970s also saw Ana Bryant's succsful mpaign Miami to repeal a gay-rights legislatn and the assassatn of Harvey Milk, one of Ameri's greatt advot for gays and lbians and one of the first openly gay men elected to public office. But engagg gay behavr public (holdg hands, kissg or dancg wh someone of the same sex) was still illegal, so police harassment of gay bars ntued and many bars still operated whout liquor licens— part bee they were owned by the Rights Before StonewallThe first documented U. When The Commissn on Human Rights led that gay dividuals had the right to be served bars, police raids were temporarily Stonewall Inn The crime syndite saw prof terg to shunned gay clientele, and by the mid-1960s, the Genove crime fay ntrolled most Greenwich Village gay bars.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

The gay rights movement the Uned Stat began the 1920s and saw huge progrs the 2000s, wh laws prohibg homosexual activy stck down and a Supreme Court lg legalizg same-sex marriage. * gay liberation movement 70s *

And was one of the few—if not the only—gay bar left that allowed were still a fact of life, but ually rpt ps would tip off Mafia-n bars before they occurred, allowg owners to stash the alhol (sold whout a liquor license) and hi other illegal activi. Stonewall's LegacyThough the Stonewall uprisg didn’t start the gay rights movement, was a galvanizg force for LGBT polil activism, leadg to numero gay rights anizatns, cludg the Gay Liberatn Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn), and PFLAG (formerly Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbians and Gays) the one-year anniversary of the rts on June 28, 1970, thoands of people marched the streets of Manhattan om the Stonewall Inn to Central Park what was then lled “Christopher Street Liberatn Day, ” Ameri’s first gay pri para.

”In 2016, then-Print Barack Obama signated the se of the rts—Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and the surroundg streets and siwalks—a natnal monument regnn of the area’s ntributn to gay Gallery The Stonewall Inn is a bar loted New York Cy’s Greenwich Village that served as a haven the 1960s for the cy’s gay, lbian and transgenr muny. However, throughout 150 years of homosexual social movements (roughly om the 1870s to today), lears and anizers stggled to addrs the very different ncerns and inty issu of gay men, women intifyg as lbians, and others intifyg as genr variant or nonbary. Biblil terpretatn ma illegal for a woman to wear pants or a man to adopt female drs, and sensatnalized public trials warned agast “viants” but also ma such martyrs and hero popular: Joan of Arc is one example, and the chillg origs of the word “faggot” clu a stick of wood ed public burngs of gay men.

THE LAVENR MENACE FORMSCREATED 1970, "THE WOMAN INTIFIED WOMAN" WAS A MANIFTO OUTLG THE RE PRCIPL OF RADIL LBIANS THAT THE LAVENR MENACE HAND OUT AT THEIR "ZAP" OF THE SEND CONGRS TO UNE WOMEN 1970. THE LAVENR MENACE WAS THE PEJORATIVE NAME GIVEN TO LBIANS BY FEMIST BETTY FRIEDAN. FRIEDAN ARGUED THAT CREASGLY POLICIZED LBIANS WERE A THREAT TO THE FEMIST MOVEMENT AND ULD HURT THE NATNAL MOVEMENT FOR SOCIAL EQUY FOR WOMEN. FRIEDAN WAS A MEMBER OF THE NATNAL ORGANIZATN FOR WOMEN (NOW) AND THEIR STANCE WAS MOST WOMEN FELT AS IF LBIAN ISSU WERE IRRELEVANT TO THEM AND THAT IF THEY WERE TO PARTNER WH LBIANS, WOULD BE HARR TO PH POLICY MAKERS THE RIGHT DIRECTN.THE TERM WAS RECLAIMED BY LBIANS WH THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT 1970 WHO MAND CLN AND REGNN. SOME STAFF MEMBERS OM NOW RIGNED OM THEIR JOBS TO JO THE GROUP. THAT SAME YEAR MEMBERS OF THE LAVENR MENACE DISPTED THE SEND CONGRS TO UNE WOMEN, A NFERENCE SPONSORED BY NOW BY CUTTG THE LIGHTS AND CHANGG TO SHIRTS WH THE NAME “LAVENR MENACE” ON THEMLBIAN RIGHTS WERE CLUD NOW’S SIX KEY ISSU 1971 AND 1977, BETTY FRIEDAN APOLOGIZED FOR HER PERV REMARKS AND ACTIVELY SUPPORTED A ROLUTN AGAST SEXUAL PREFERENCE DISCRIMATN.‍MARSHA P. JOHNSON AND SYLVIA RIVERA FOUND STARMARSHA P. JOHNSON AND SYLVIA RIVERA AT THE 1973 CHRISTOPHER STREET LIBERATN DAY PARA NEW YORK CYMARSHA P. JOHNSON, PART OF THE “VANGUARD” DURG THE STONEWALL RTS, WAS A PROMENT FIGURE OF THE GAY LIBERATN MOVEMENT. SHE AND SYLVIA RIVERA CREATED THE STREET TRANSVTE ACTN REVOLUTNARI (STAR) HOE 1970 TO ADVOTE FOR AND PROVI HOG, FOOD, AND CLOTHG TO LGBTQ HOMELS YOUTH. THE TWO WERE PROMPTED TO ADDRS THE ISSU FOLLOWG THE WESTE HALL S-S WHICH WERE SPARKED BY NEW YORK UNIVERSY’S CISN TO NCEL A SERI OF DANC WHICH CID WH THE FIRST PRI PARA 1970. OVER THE URSE OF FIVE DAYS, PROTTERS PLANNED AND WORKED WHEN RIVERA FIRST GOT THE IA FOR THE STAR HOE. BOTH ACTIVISTS FACED THE CHALLENG OF HOMELSNS AND THROUGH A FUNDRAISG EVENT THEY WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE THE STAR HOE 1970, A 4-BEDROOM APARTMENT THE EAST VILLAGE. THE ANIZATN IS REGNIZED AS THE FIRST SHELTER FOR LGBTQ+ HOMELS YOUTH NORTH AMERI AND ONE OF THE FIRST ANIZATNS LED BY TRANSGENR PEOPLE OF LOR. LBIAN DELEGATE MALE DAVIS BLAZ TRAIL AT DNCIN 1972, MALE DAVIS WAS THE FIRST OUT LBIAN LEGATE ELECTED TO THE DEMOCRATIC NATNAL CONVENTN. DURG THE CONVENTN, SHE LLED FOR THE CLN OF GAY RIGHTS THE PARTY’S PLATFORM FOR THE YEAR. FOLLOWG HER SPEECH, SHE BEME A MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC COMMTEE AND WORKED WH THE PARTY FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF GAYS AND LBIANS. SHE ALSO TGHT THE FIRST URSE ON LBIANISM THE U.S. AT THE UNIVERSY OF BUFFALO NEW YORK. TWENTY STUNTS SIGNED UP FOR “LBIANISM 101” WHICH WAS TGHT AGA UNR THE NAME “WOMEN + WOMEN.” WORLD’S FIRST OUT GAY JUDGE APPOTED IN CALIFORNIA PHOTO BY KAREN OMBA LAWYER, ACTIVIST AND -FOUNR OF THE NATN’S FIRST GAY POLIL ACTN MTEE, STEPHEN LACHS WAS APPOTED BY CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN FOR AN OPEN POSN ON THE LOS ANGEL COUNTY SUPERR COURT 1979. HE MA HISTORY AS THE FIRST OUT LGBTQ+ JUDGE THE WORLD AS WELL AS THE FIRST OUT LGBTQ+ APPOTMENT BY GOV. BROWN. IN THE EY OF THOSE WHO SENT HIM ATH THREATS, A CRIMAL WAS ADJUDITG THE LAW. NOHELS, LACHS WAS ELECTED 1980 AND THRICE MORE TIM BEFORE RETIRG 1999 AS A WELL-RPECTED JUDGE AND EXPERT FAY LAW. “I BELIEVE THAT MY BEG A JUDGE CHANGED MANY PERCEPTNS WH THE CALIFORNIA JUDICIARY. JUDG ALL OVER THE STATE HAD TO AL WH A LLEAGUE WHO WAS OPENLY GAY, WHICH IS QUE DIFFERENT THAN READG ABOUT A MAGAZE,” LACHS WROTE AN SAY FOR THE “OUT AND ELECTED THE USA: 1974–2004” PROJECT FOR “I NNOT WRE ABOUT MY REER WHOUT REMEMBERG THE MANY MEN AND WOMEN, MUCH MORE URAGEO THAN I, UNSELFISH, IALISTIC AND WILLG TO RISK EVERYTHG FOR THEIR E, WHO LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR MY APPOTMENT AND MY SUBSEQUENT FOUR ELECTNS. THEY HAVE BEEN MY SUPPORT AND MY FORT FOR MANY YEARS AND THEY HAVE CHANGED THE HISTORY OF OUR UNTRY.”KATHY KOZACHENKO BE FIRST OUT LGBTQ+ CANDIDATE TO W PUBLIC OFFICE THE U.S.KATHY KOZACHENKO ENTERED LLEGE AT THE UNIVERSY OF MICHIGAN AS A SOCIAL JTICE ADVOTE AND JOED THE HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY – A PRO-FEMIST, PRO-RACIAL JTICE AND PRO-LGBTQ+ PARTY. PARTY OFFICIALS ENURAGED HER TO N FOR ANN ARBOR CY COUNCIL AND TO DO SO AS AN OUT LBIAN. BOTH GERRY DEGRIECK AND NANCY WECHSLER HAD BEEN ELECTED TO THE UNCIL AS HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY MEMBERS BEFORE HER, AND BOTH ME OUT WHILE OFFICE, BEG THE FIRST ELECTED OFFICIALS TO DO SO. BUT KOZACHENKO CID TO TAKE THE PARTY OFFICIALS’ ADVICE AND N HER MPAIGN WHILE OUT – ALTHOUGH SHE DID NOT MAKE HER SEXUAL ORIENTATN CENTRAL TO HER MPAIGN.ON APRIL 2, 1974, A LIBERAL DISTRICT LIBERAL ANN ARBOR, KOZACHENKO FEATED HER OPPONENT BY 52 POTS AND BEME THE FIRST OUT LGBTQ+ PERSON EVER ELECTED THE UNED STAT. THE MICHIGAN DAILY REPORTS ON KATHY KOZACHENKO'S UPSET VICTORY.SHE SPOKE TO HER SEXUAL ORIENTATN HER VICTORY SPEECH:“THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE HISTORY OF THE U.S. THAT SOMEONE HAS N OPENLY AS A GAY PERSON AND BEEN ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE. GAY LIBERATN WAS NOT A MAJOR ISSUE THE MPAIGN — BOTH NDIDAT THIS WARD SAID THEY SUPPORTED GAY RIGHTS, BUT 10 YEARS AGO, OR EVEN THREE YEARS AGO, LBIANISM WOULD HAVE MEANT TOMATIC FEAT. THIS YEAR WE TALKED ABOUT RENT NTROL. WE TALKED ABOUT THE CY’S BUDGET. WE TALKED ABOUT POLICE PRRI, AND WE HAD A RERD OF ACTN TO N ON. MANY PEOPLE’S ATTUS ABOUT GAYNS ARE STILL FAR OM HEALTHY, BUT MY MPAIGN FORCED SOME PEOPLE AT LEAST TO RE-EXAME THEIR PREJUDIC AND STEREOTYP.”HER MPAIGN WAS THE FIRST SUCCS WHAT WOULD BEE A POLIL MOVEMENT TO BUILD LGBTQ POWER. ON APRIL 2, 2019, WH KOZACHENKO’S BLSG, LGBTQ+ VICTORY INSTUTE LNCHED S ANNUAL NATNAL OUT TO W DAY, TO HONOR HER ACHIEVEMENT AND TO ENURAGE MORE LGBTQ+ PEOPLE TO N FOR OFFICE.‍FIRST OUT STATE LEGISLATOR ELECTED THE U.S.EDUTOR ELAE NOBLE WAS ENURAGED TO N FOR THE MASSACHETTS HOE OF REPRENTATIV 1974 BY FORMER CONGRS MEMBER BARNEY FRANK’S SISTER, ANN WEXLER. THE TWO WOMEN HAD FORMED THE WOMEN’S POLIL CC, AND WEXLER THOUGHT NOBLE WOULD REPRENT HER IRISH CATHOLIC BOSTON DISTRICT WELL, EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS LGBTQ+.IT WAS THE HEIGHT OF SEGREGATN, SO NOBLE RO B WH CHILDREN OF LOR AND HAD MPAIGN WORKERS MONOR SCHOOL B STOPS TO MONSTRATE HER EP BELIEF EQUALY. A GAY NEWSPAPER REPORTER TOLD HER, “YOU SHOULD STICK TO YOUR OWN KD, OR WE’RE GOG TO GET SOMEONE ELSE TO REPRENT .” NOBLE RPOND, “WELL, I BELIEVE, DAVID, I AM STICKG WH MY OWN KD,” ACRDG TO AN TERVIEW NOBLE GAVE RON SCHLTLER FOR HIS “OUT AND ELECTED THE USA: 1974–2004” PROJECT FOR “YOU N’T SAY THAT YOU WANT PROGRS OR CHANGE FOR ONE GROUP AND NOT FOR ANOTHER. IT DON’T HAPPEN THAT WAY.”NOBLE EXPERIENCED SUCH HARASSMENT—OM BOMB THREATS TO BEG SPAT UPON BY AN EIGHTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD MAN—THAT AT ONE POT SHE MPAIGNED PROTECTED BY STATE TROOPERS. “IT WAS A VERY UGLY MPAIGN. UGLY,” SHE TOLD SCHLTLER. “THERE WAS A LOT OF SHOOTG THROUGH MY WDOWS, STROYG MY R, BREAKG WDOWS AT MY MPAIGN HEADQUARTERS, SER HARASSMENT OF PEOPLE VISG MY HOE AND MPAIGN OFFICE— WAS REALLY BAD.”NOHELS, NOBLE PREVAILED, WNG WH 59 PERCENT OF THE VOTE. THE HARASSMENT, HOWEVER, NTUED AS SHE FOUND HUMAN FEC ON HER SK AND FEND OFF OBSCENE PROFANI. “I JT TRIED TO MATA WH WHAT LEVEL OF DIGNY THAT I ULD,” SHE SAID.EVENTUALLY, MOST OF THE UGLS DIED DOWN, AND NOBLE WON A SEND TERM WH ALMOST 90 PERCENT OF THE VOTE. NOBLE’S DIGNIFIED PERSEVERANCE SPIRED MANY CLOSETED AND POTENTIAL PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO E OUT DURG A DIFFICULT TIME, A LEGACY EVEN MORE LASTG THAN HER TWO TERMS OFFICE.HARVEY MILK ELECTEDHARVEY MILK ON THE MPAIGN TRAIL 1976HARVEY MILK IS TERNATNALLY RENOWNED AS AN LGBTQ+ HERO, HAVG ED HIS POSN AS THE FIRST OUT LGBTQ+ ELECTED OFFICIAL CALIFORNIA TO LOUDLY FIGHT BACK AGAST THE TORNADO OF ANTI-LGBTQ+ DISCRIMATN FURLY WHIPPG THE UNTRY TO A ENZY WH THE RISE OF THE MORAL MAJORY AND ANA BRYANT’S CSA TO “SAVE OUR CHILDREN” 1977. EFFECTIVELY G HIS BULLHORN ON THE SAN FRANCIS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, MILK HELPED LEAD THE NAIL-BG SUCCSFUL MPAIGN TO STOP THE BRIGGS INIATIVE, WHICH WOULD HAVE PERMTED THE FIRG OF GAY TEACHERS AND THEIR ALLI 1978.AS THE OSR-WNG FICTNALIZED FILM BGRAPHY MILK DITED, HE DID NOT HAVE AN EASY ROAD TO ELECTORAL VICTORY. BUT GLOSSED OVER MILK HISTORI IS THAT AFTER HIS SEND FAILED MPAIGN, HIS CLOSE IEND AND ALLY MAYOR GEE MOSNE APPOTED HIM TO THE BOARD OF PERM APPEALS, MAKG HIM THE FIRST OUT GAY CY MISSNER AMERI. AFTER HIS THIRD FAILED MPAIGN, MILK, HIS MPAIGN MANAGER ANNE KRONENBERG, AND MOSNE ENGEERED A L CHANGE ENABLG NDIDAT TO N OM THEIR DISTRICTS STEAD OF SEEKG AN “AT-LARGE” SEAT. BY 1977, AS GAY SAN FRANCIS CHRONICLE REPORTER RANDY SHILTS LATER WROTE, MILK WAS BOTH A ALN-BUILR AND “THE MAYOR OF CASTRO STREET.” HE WAS ELECTED ON NOVEMBER 8, 1977.SUPERVISOR HARVEY MILK AT MAYOR GEE MOSNE'S SK.MILK BEME NATNALLY FAMO FOR HIS “G OUT” SPEECH. “GAY PEOPLE, WE WILL NOT W OUR RIGHTS BY STAYG QUIETLY OUR CLOSETS,” MILK SAID DURG ONE RALLY AGAST THE ANTI-GAY BRIGGS INIATIVE. AFTER RECEIVG DAILY ATH THREATS, MILK SAID HIS DTAPED WILL: “IF A BULLET SHOULD ENTER MY BRA, LET THAT BULLET STROY EVERY CLOSET DOOR.”ON NOVEMBER 27, 1978, MILK AND MOSNE WERE ASSASSATED BY DISGNTLED FORMER SUPERVISOR DAN WHE, PROMPTG MANY TO E OUT, CLUDG MILK’S TEENAGE NEPHEW STUART MILK, WHO NOW NS THE MILK FOUNDATN. ON AUGT 12, 2009, STUART MILK ACCEPTED THE MEDAL OF FREEDOM, THE NATN’S HIGHT CIVILIAN HONOR, POSTHUMOLY AWARD BY PRINT BARACK OBAMA TO HARVEY MILK FOR HIS “VISNARY URAGE AND NVICTN” FIGHTG DISCRIMATN.ACTIVIST FRANK KAMENY RUNS FOR U.S. CONGRS

This creasg awarens of an existg and vulnerable populatn, upled wh Senator Joseph McCarthy’s vtigatn of homosexuals holdg ernment jobs durg the early 1950s outraged wrers and feral employe whose own liv were shown to be send-class unr the law, cludg Frank Kameny, Barbara Gtgs, Allen Gsberg, and Harry Hay. Fstrated wh the male learship of most gay liberatn groups, lbians fluenced by the femist movement of the 1970s formed their own llectiv, rerd labels, mic ftivals, newspapers, bookstor, and publishg ho, and lled for lbian rights mastream femist groups like the Natnal Organizatn for Women. The creasg expansn of a global LGBT rights movement suffered a setback durg the 1980s, as the gay male muny was cimated by the Aids epimic, mands for passn and medil fundg led to renewed alns between men and women as well as angry street theatre by groups like Aids Coaln to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and Queer Natn.

LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: EARLY PNEERS OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Wh greater media attentn to gay and lbian civil rights the 1990s, trans and tersex voic began to ga space through works such as Kate Boernste’s “Genr Outlaw” (1994) and “My Genr Workbook” (1998), Ann Fsto-Sterlg’s “Myths of Genr” (1992) and Llie Feberg’s “Transgenr Warrrs” (1998), enhancg shifts women’s and genr studi to bee more clive of transgenr and nonbary inti. She and Frank Kameny worked together to list homosexualy as a mental disorr, which the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn approved Shelley sells the Gay Liberatn Front paper durg a Weste Hall monstratn New York Davi / New York Public LibraryMartha Shelley — One of the first members of the Gay Liberatn Front, Shelley is one of the bt-known lbian activists Ameri.

The name "Shelley" was an alias taken to avoid beg intified FBI surveillance of the Dghters of Mae Brown, Lavenr Menace T-shirt, at the Lavenr Menace Actn, May Davi/NYPLRa Mae Brown — A lbian activist and femist active startg the 1970s, Brown was a member of the Gay Liberatn Front, Lavenr Menace, and joed a lbian mune Washgton, D. Army service World War I, Gerber was spired to create his anizatn by the Scientific-Humanarian Commtee, a “homosexual emancipatn” group ’s small group published a few issu of s newsletter “Friendship and Freedom, ” the untry’s first gay-tert newsletter. Ernment signated Gerber’s Chigo hoe a Natnal Historic Pk TriangleCorbis/Getty ImagHomosexual prisoners at the ncentratn mp at Sachsenhsen, Germany, wearg pk triangl on their uniforms on December 19, gay rights movement stagnated for the next few s, though LGBT dividuals around the world did e to the spotlight a few example, English poet and thor Radclyffe Hall stirred up ntroversy 1928 when she published her lbian-themed novel, The Well of Lonels.

THE GAY LIBERATN MOVEMENT

Addnally, 1948, his book Sexual Behavr the Human Male, Aled Ksey proposed that male sexual orientatn li on a ntuum between exclively homosexual to exclively Homophile Years In 1950, Harry Hay found the Mattache Foundatn, one of the natn’s first gay rights group. ”Though started off small, the foundatn, which sought to improve the liv of gay men through discsn groups and related activi, expand after foundg member Dale Jenngs was arrted 1952 for solicatn and then later set ee due to a adlocked the end of the year, Jenngs formed another anizatn lled One, Inc., which weled women and published ONE, the untry’s first pro-gay magaze.

Post Office, which 1954 clared the magaze “obscene” and refed to liver Mattache Society Mattache Foundatn members rtctured the anizatn to form the Mattache Society, which had lol chapters other parts of the untry and 1955 began publishg the untry’s send gay publitn, The Mattache Review. That same year, four lbian upl San Francis found an anizatn lled the Dghters of Bilis, which soon began publishg a newsletter lled The Ladr, the first lbian publitn of any early years of the movement also faced some notable setbacks: the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn listed homosexualy as a form of mental disorr followg year, Print Dwight D.

GAY RIGHTS

”In fear of beg shut down by thori, bartenrs would ny drks to patrons spected of beg gay or kick them out altogether; others would serve them drks but force them to s facg away om other ctomers to prevent them om 1966, members of the Mattache Society New York Cy staged a “sip-”—a twist on the “s-” protts of the 1960s— which they vised taverns, clared themselv gay, and waed to be turned away so they uld sue. They were nied service at the Greenwich Village tavern Juli, rultg much publicy and the quick reversal of the anti-gay liquor Stonewall Inn A few years later, 1969, a now-famo event talyzed the gay rights movement: The Stonewall clanste gay club Stonewall Inn was an stutn Greenwich Village bee was large, cheap, allowed dancg and weled drag queens and homels the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York Cy police raid the Stonewall Inn. 1 / 12: NY Daily News Archive/Getty ImagChristopher Street Liberatn Day Shortly after the Stonewall uprisg, members of the Mattache Society spl off to form the Gay Liberatn Front, a radil group that lnched public monstratns, protts and nontatns wh polil officials.

Addnally, several openly LGBTQ dividuals secured public office posns: Kathy Kozachenko won a seat to the Ann Harbor, Michigan, Cy Council 1974, beg the first out Amerin to be elected to public Milk, who mpaigned on a pro-gay rights platform, beme the San Francis cy supervisor 1978, beg the first openly gay man elected to a polil office asked Gilbert Baker, an artist and gay rights activist, to create an emblem that reprents the movement and would be seen as a symbol of pri. In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventn published a report about five prevly healthy homosexual men beg fected wh a rare type of 1984, rearchers had intified the e of AIDS—the human immunoficiency vis, or HIV—and the Food and Dg Admistratn licensed the first mercial blood tt for HIV 1985.

PARTY AND PROTT: THE RADIL HISTORY OF GAY LIBERATN, STONEWALL AND PRI

But after failg to garner enough support for such an open policy, Print Clton 1993 passed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, which allowed gay men and women to serve the ary as long as they kept their sexualy a rights advot cried the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, as did ltle to stop people om beg discharged on the grounds of their 2011, Print Obama fulfilled a mpaign promise to repeal DADT; by that time, more than 12, 000 officers had been discharged om the ary unr DADT for refg to hi their sexualy. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was officially repealed on September 20, Marriage and Beyond In 1992, the District of Columbia passed a law that allowed gay and lbian upl to register as domtic partners, grantg them some of the rights of marriage (the cy of San Francis passed a siar ordance three years prr and California would later extend those rights to the entire state 1999) 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on gay marriage may go agast the state’s nstutn.

INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN

In 1994, a new anti-hate-crime law allowed judg to impose harsher sentenc if a crime was motivated by a victim’s sexual Matthew Shepard ActCourty of the Matthew Shepard FoundatnMatthew Shepard, who was btally killed a hate crime 2003, gay rights proponents had another b of happy news: the U. Gay rights proponents mt also ntent wh an creasg number of “relig liberty” state laws, which allow bs to ny service to LGBTQ dividuals due to relig beliefs, as well as “bathroom laws” that prevent transgenr dividuals om g public bathrooms that don’t rrpond to their sex at birth.

Soon they were advotg nothg ls than “gay liberatn” nscns-raisg groups to fundraisg danc, protts outsi hostile newspapers to refug for homels trans and queer people, this surge LGBTQ+ anisg took many forms, and as the first anniversary of the rts me to view, some the muny began discsg how bt to mark what was beg regard as the “Bastille day” of gay rights. The roots of that bate go back to s earlit days, and suggt that Pri and the Stonewall rts have always been part of a ntent battle for inty and ownership – a battle that has helped produce the very ia of what beg a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr or queer person might Stonewall rts were not the birth of the gay rights movement.

Seven years before that, when police had raid Coopers, a donut shop the cy ntled between two gay bars, LGBTQ+ patrons had attacked officers after the arrt of a number of drag queens, sex workers and gay had been a gay rights movement the US among people scribg themselv as “homophil” sce the late 40s. Hirschfeld’s scientific approach, bed wh his sympathetic treatment of LGBTQ+ people – he was himself homosexual – had been key velopg the ia that their shared experienc uld be unrstood not jt as discrete sexual (and crimal) acts, nor as psychiatric illns, but as a legible sexual and genr inty, which uld be afford civil rights. ) The Mattache Society had radil roots activism, takg on the anisatnal stcture of cells and central anisatn favoured by the Communist well as publishg magaz for gay men, and supportg victims of police entrapment, the society had wir polil aims, cludg to “unify homosexuals isolated om their own kd” and to “te homosexuals and heterosexuals toward an ethil homosexual culture parallelg the cultur of the Negro, Mexin and Jewish peopl”.

GAY LIBERATN MOVEMENT

Such aims would bee key to the ncept of “gay pri” some two s two s, however, would be among the harst for LGBTQ+ people US history, as the greater visibily of the homosexual inty led to a nservative backlash, and a moral panic the media that was palised upon by policians. After he was forced to appear before the Hoe Un-Amerin Activi Commtee, Hay was expelled om the Mattache Society, now a growg anisatn of a few thoand men, and he wasn’t the last radil to be thrown homophile movement began to tackle “subversive elements” and orient self around rpectabily. In 1966, the Mattache Society challenged this policy wh a “sip-” at Juli’, a Greenwich Village bar that was popular wh gay men, but was attemptg to shake off s homosexual bars equently flouted this law, explog legal loophol and payg off the NYPD while chargg their LGBTQ+ ctomers high pric for watered-down drks.

When, ncerned by the ongog unrt, members of the society pated on the board-up wdows of the Stonewall “WE HOMOSEXUALS PLEAD WITH OUR PEOPLE TO PLEASE HELP MAINTAIN PEACEFUL AND QUIET CONDUCT ON THE STREETS OF THE VILLAGE – MATTACHINE”, their ll went unheed. As the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns me together for a meetg November 1969 to discs the followg year’s Annual Remr, Rodwell wonred whether a memoratn of the rts – one whout a drs or other rtrictns, and that uld be mirrored across the natn – might not be more suable.

At the same time, there were tensns around the excln of trans people, many of whom scribed themselv as queens and transvt, the language of the LGBTQ+ scene at the time, even while still intifyg themselv as “gay” umbrella, which brought people together for the e of liberatn, failed to acknowledge the different experienc of those who sheltered unr , or addrs the power imbalanc wh . It wasn’t until the 00s, though, that rporate sponsorship began to overwhelm Pri, as more fundg led to larger and larger events, which LGBTQ+ people are now often charged to the late 90s, some US activists created Gay Shame rponse to Pri’s mercialisatn, an event that foced on anisg around wir issu that affected the whole LGBTQ+ muny.

Gay Rights - Movement, Marriage & Flag | HISTORY

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GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

A GLIMPSE INTO 1970S GAY ACTIVISM