Clear back in the 60s, the gay and lesbian community was mainly a hidden group in Greenwich Village New York. However, by 1969, there were open places for gays and lesbians to gather, but they were often raided, believe arrested people, and the establishment was shut down. In June of '69 the gay and lesbian community began to stand up for their gay rights and because of police action, riots ensued.
This was in fact the beginning of the gay rights movements across the nation. In fact, there is an annual holiday, Gay pride, where many people step out to stand up for gay rights across the nation.
These gay rights are no longer just for gay individuals, there are also standing out for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals. Basically, these gay rights are standing up for the rights of anyone to discriminate against anyone for sexual expression.
Stonewall, a small bar in Greenwich Village was a place for those who live an alternate expression or different sexuality lifestyles to gather. This simple bar, Stonewall, catered to those who wanted to come and accept everyone as they were. The Stonewall Inn now has been written down in history as the beginning of the gay rights movement. At the time, there were other gay bars, but the Stonewall Inn was the only one who was singled out during the beginning of gay rights movement.
For those who know nothing about the contentious 1960s and early 1970s time period, there were many different equal rights movements that started to come through during that time. It was not just about a sexual expression and Stonewall, it was about equal rights for all no matter race, color, gender, or sexual expression. Stonewall was the start of the equal rights movement across the nation, and just because it started at Stonewall for the gay and lesbian community, it soon branched out to Los Angeles and other major cities around the nation.
For the LGBT rights movement also known as the lesbian gay bisexual transgender rights group, Stonewall is the beginning of their history. It is a time when gay rights were nowhere to be found, and those who had a different type of sexual expression were persecuted and forced into the mainstream. Those who were persecuted were forced to try to live a heterosexual lifestyle even though it went against everything they were.
Those who live in today's society have been brought up to accept a variety of different types of sexual expression and think nothing of Stonewall and all of the riots, parades, and marches that now offer these youngsters a right to their own personal sexual expression along with many other equal rights including gay rights.
While Stonewall may have been the beginning of the gay rights movement, a yearly event known as Gay pride week allows individuals to stand up for their belief that everyone has a right to equal rights no matter their sexual expression.