Runninghead: STONEWALL RIOTS Stonewall Riots

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, a series of violent protests and street demonstrations took place in Greenwich Village. The riots took place around a gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn. In the late 1960s Homosexual sex was illegal in every state but Illinois. There was no federal or state law that protected gay men or lesbian woman. At this time gay and lesbians that were open about their sexuality were denied housing or were killed (Jackson,2008). In the late 1960s, a man known as Fat Tony, the son of an important Mafioso, decided to open a gay bar. Fat Tony decided to start his new business on the oldest and longest street in Greenwich Village, Christopher Street (Jackson,2008). Many would have described the Stonewall as an over-priced, watered-down, and often bootlegged liquor bar. There was no running water, and the bar's two dark rooms were often uncomfortably stuffy and hot. It was a dive bar, but one in which the city's homosexuals felt comfortable and at home. Stonewall Patron, Jerry Hoose described The Bar itself was a toilet, but it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street (Carter, 2009). Visitors that came to the Stonewall in 1969 were greeted by a bouncer who inspected them through a peephole in the door. The legal drinking age was 18, and to avoid unwittingly letting in undercover police. Visitors would have to be known by the doorman, or look gay. The entrance fee on weekends was $3, for which the customer received two tickets that could be exchanged for two drinks (Carter, 2009). In 1969 police raids occurred regularly in gay bars. It was illegal to serve gay people alcohol or for gay people to dance with one another. During a raid, lights were turned on, the

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customers were lined up and they were asked for id. Those who did not have proper identification or who were dressed as drag queens were automatically arrested. Employees and management of the bar were also arrested. Previous raids of the Stonewall Inn had resolved peacefully. Typically, after police made some arrests, the bar would shut down, and reopen for business just a few hours later. But on Saturday, June 28, eight police officers entered the Stonewall Inn with intentions of raiding the place. The police raid did not go as planned that early morning. Approximately 200 people were at the bar that night. As the police waited for the patrol wagons to come collect everyone at the bar a fight broke out when a lesbian in handcuffs was escorted to the police wagon. She fought with the police, and was hit in the head with a club for complaining that her handcuffs were too tight. Pennies, then beer bottles, and bricks were thrown at the wagon (Filisko, 2013). Soon enough the police were outnumbered by about 600 people, Gay men, transvestites, and lesbians fought the police that night. As the riot progressed garbage cans, bottles, rocks, and bricks were thrown at the building, breaking the windows. The riots continued on and off for six days. During the course of those days, the protestors' strength and courage grew, and others in the neighborhood and across the city joined them. As word of this event spread, the actions of the protesters at the Stonewall Inn gave courage and hope to LGBT individuals across the country. More and more communities united against the injustices and violence LGBT individuals faced. The riots marked the beginning of the Gay rights movement (Filisko, 2013). James J.S. Holmes stated The riots were a very visible and public display where the LGBT community

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finally made it clear it wasn't going to accept any more repression and poor treatment,". Following the riot, the bar's reputation was tarnished -- gay rights groups advocated boycotting Mafia-run establishments, and police raids continued in Greenwich Village. With no liquor license Stonewall converted to a juice bar, but it failed, and by October 1969, just three months after the raid, the Stonewall Inn was up for lease (Filisko, 2013) .By the 1990s, gay bars began to repopulate Christopher Street. The western half of the original space opened as a bar in the early 90s, and on February 16, 2000, the Stonewall Inn became a National Historic Landmark. In 2007, the entire space was renovated and renamed the Stonewall Inn. On the first anniversary of those riots, people of all backgrounds gathered at the Stonewall Inn and across the nation to commemorate the event in the modern day LGBT rights movement. Subsequent annual celebrations grew to become what we now know as LGBT Pride Month, which was first declared by President Bill Clinton in 2000. In addition to society's increased understanding and acceptance of the LGBT community, there have been several important legislative and policy changes. These include hate crimes protections for LGBT people, the recent repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The LGBT community has made many milestones since the riots. In 2004 the high court of Massachusetts ruled that gay marriage was legal under its constitution, leading to the nation's first legal gay marriages in May 2004. On June 17, 2009, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum allowing same-sex partners of federal employees to receive certain benefits. In 2011, New York State passed the Marriage

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Equity Act, becoming the largest state thus far to legalize gay marriage (Crary,2013). As a nation, we have come a long way since June 28, 1969.

STONEWALL RIOTS References Carter, D. (2009). What made stonewall different. The Gay & Lesbian Review

Worldwide, 16(4), 11-13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 198686004?accountid=28076 Crary, D. (2013, Jun 09). GAY-RIGHTS MOVEMENT. Sunday Gazette - Mail. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1366072074? accountid=28076 Filisko, G. M. (2013, 02). The stonewall legacy. ABA Journal, 99, 57-59. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1287027749?accountid=28076 Jackson, S. (2008, Jun). BEFORE STONEWALL. The Village Voice. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232284669?accountid=28076