In the 1960's, raids on gay establishments in America were commonplace. But after the death of showbiz legend Judy Garland, patrons at a New York bar took a stand when the cops barged in. It was 1969, a riot at the Stonewall bar, and the beginnings of the gay political movement as we know it. Parade: Stonewall remembered in New York yesterday 'HOMO NEST RAIDED - QUEEN BEES ARE STINGING MAD', headlined the New York Daily News on 29 June, 1969. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers marched yesterday in a parade honouring the anniversary. While the LGBT community of today has a lot to celebrate, the quest for equality continues, with the parade acting as a demonstration in support of same-sex marriage. "The younger generation needs to learn about gay pride," says Tree, a 70-year-old barman who still works at the Stonewall. "They have no idea the older generation went to jail for them," he told the Daily News. 40 years on, the struggle continues, and the tension is felt all the way up to the White House. President Obama is perceived by many to have dragged his heels on the LGBT issues he campaigned on. "Gay Americans aren't just another political special interest group," writes Frank Rich in the New York Times. "They are Americans who are actively discriminated against by federal laws. "If the president is to properly honor the memory of Stonewall, he should get up to speed on what happened there 40 years ago, when courageous kids who had nothing, not even a public acknowledgment of their existence, stood up to make history happen in the least likely of places." Amateur video footage of New York's Gay Pride Parade appears below.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Monday, 29th June 2009 - 9:01am