re: #560 Csarneson

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. Gays were treated by general society as freaks and outliers during that time. I think it is safe to say that an event (however significant at the time) that happened 10-20 years before did not succeed in making them mainstream, accepted, and treated fairly.

However, in the past 20 years public support for gay marriage has skyrocked from 20% (approx) to about 60-70% now. During that time there have been no notable violent riots. Coincidence?

You’re forgetting that the Stonewall Uprising is the event that essentially created the modern gay-rights movement. There were groups like the Mattachine Society and whatnot before Stonewall, but they were considered fringe groups and generally ignored by everyone, including a good many LGBT people.

Stonewall galvanized the Village LGBT scene, and one year later, on June 28 1970, the first gay pride parade was held - the Christopher Street Pride Parade, I believe it was referred to as. And from there, the movement began to spread.

Stonewall itself showed that the LGBT community was simply no longer going to tolerate being pushed around by the NYPD. And from that sense of “We’re not gonna take it”, the modern gay rights movement began. A peaceful movement that has achieved a great deal within my lifetime of 46 years.

But it was that explosion of anger on that June night in 1969 that provided the impetus to the LGBT movement to affect profound societal change.