Stonewall Riots

Stonewall Riots

"Liberation for gay people is to define ourselves how and with whom we live, instead of measuring our relationships by straight values... To be free territory, we must govern ourselves, set up our own institutions, defend ourselves, and use our own energies to improve our lives" (Wittman, 75). Carl Wittman's Refugees from Amerika: A Gay Manifesto, drew together many of the themes dealing with gay liberation. This quote demonstrates the goals of the gay and lesbian movement, a movement which many believe started with the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall riots proved to homosexuals that a sufficient amount of time had passed that they were persecuted and maltreated and it was time to speak up for their rights, resulting in the gay and lesbian movement.

For many years homosexuals have been persecuted and looked down upon for leading different lifestyles than the so-called "normal," person. Homosexuals live in fear; a fear of opening up and showing the world their true selves. There are many reasons why homosexuals chose and still choose to stay in the "closet." The fact that many people thought lesbians and gay men had psychological problems was one of them. According to the article The Stonewall Riots- 1969, Sigmund Freud's writings on sexuality in the early 1900's and his theories on homosexuality, the public began to think that lesbians and gay men would benefit from medical treatment. Freud's theories primarily stated that homosexuality was something learned in childhood and was basically a choice. A choice that physicians thought they could change through treatments such as castration, hypnosis, surgery, electric shock, drugs and hormones. (Wright)

New York banned homosexual themes in movies due to the fact that they were thought of as "perverted." According to the article The Stonewall Riots- 1969, the Motion Picture Code of the 1930's prevented movies from being viewed and many had to be edited to remove any obscene material. Along with film, there were also newspaper articles that were published further discussing homosexuals as "sex murderers," and "destroyers of society." Society was sending a message to the homosexual community that their lifestyle's were wrong and should be kept hidden. (Wright)

Name-calling was another reason that lesbians and gay men chose to keep their sexuality hidden. Though we have all heard the saying sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me, everyone has at one time or another been stung by harsh, sometimes blunt insults. Gay men and lesbians are no exception. In fact, some say they might even hear them more than anyone else. When one thinks of gay people, two main insults tend to jump out. The words "faggot" and "dyke." The word "faggot" when looked up in the dictionary means a bundle of sticks tied together and burned. (Webster's Dictionary 223) According to the article The Stonewall Riots- 1969, this term became an insult directed towards gay men following the Holocaust. During World War II, Hitler gathered all the people he thought were homosexuals at his concentration camps, stripped them down, tied them together and burned them (Wright).

Homosexuals had every right to be terrified of coming out, but they would not give up and their persistence soon began to show through according to the article The Stonewall Riots- 1969, positive signs began to show through in the early 1960's. Illinois became the first state to decriminalize homosexuality between consenting adults in private by adopting the Model Legal Code of the American Law Institute. The Motion Picture Association lifted its ban on gay themes in movies by reversing the Motion Picture Code in 1961. Not only were there noticeable differences, many gay civil rights groups began to pop up in the 1960's (Wright).

According to the book Why Do We Have Discrimination?, Franklin Kameny founded the Mattachine Society of Washington D.C. opening the way to an aggressive assertion of gay rights. He called for "acceptance as full equals... basic rights and equality as citizens; our human dignity; ... our right to the pursuit of happiness... right to love with whom we wish." He argued that the prejudice and discrimination gay people had so long endeared should no longer be tolerated and it was time homosexuals took a pride in being gay. Though there were many groups appearing to help shape the way for gay civil rights, there were also organizations trying to prevent gay people from gaining any ground.

According to the article, Stonewall Inn Riots- 1969, the city administration in New York wanted to "improve" the city's image so they decided to have a "clean-up" campaign and close gay bars. New York's Greenwich Village was host to the first gay riots in history, taking place at a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, on June 27, 1969.

Armed with a warrant, the police entered Stonewall looking for the illegal selling of alcohol. The police arrested employees and told the customers to leave. Unlike the other gay bars that were recently raided, the public did not go home quietly. Customers from the Stonewall Inn gathered on the streets and were soon joined by other village residents waiting to fight back. The crowd was extremely unhappy with what was going on so they retaliated. Coins, beer bottles, rocks, bricks, even parking meters were thrown at police officers. The crowd also shouted things like "pigs" and "faggot cops." The cops retreated inside the bar, which was then set afire by the crowd. In order for the police to show that they were still in control, they dragged a member of the crowd into the burning building and beat him senseless before hand cuffing him. At this time the crowds were growing very angry and also growing in population as the night continued. The police now feared for their own safety so they decided it was time to let the patrons know that they were still in control. As they proceeded to leave the blazing building the officers drew their guns and shouted, "We'll shoot the first faggot that comes through the door." This only fueled the crowd's rage as they continued to fight and cause a commotion throughout the night that continued for the next few days.

The next day when the Stonewall management crew went to repair the damages from the previous night, they found that the cops had stolen money from the jukebox, cash register, cigarette machine, and the safe. After being charged with the illegal selling of alcohol and being robbed the night before, the Stonewall management responded by giving away their liquor rather than selling it. The crowds quickly grew as the free alcohol persuaded more and more people