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L - Lesbian
G - Gay
B - Bisexual
T - Transgender
Q - Queer or Questioning

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In Uganda, a bill is being proposed that imposes sentences from seven years in prison to death for either being gay or simply supporting anyone who is
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Abiding Truth Ministries

Alliance Defending Freedom

American College of Pediatricians

American Family Association

American Vision

Americans for Truth About Homosexuality

ATLAH World Missionary Church (All The Land Anointed Holy)

Bible Believers Fellowship

Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM)

Chalcedon Foundation

Church Militant/St. Michael's Media

Concerned Christian Citizens

Conservative Republicans of Texas

D. James Kennedy Ministries

Faith2Action

Faithful Word Baptist Church

Family Research Council

Family Research Institute

Family Watch International

Generations

Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (H.O.M.E.)

Illinois Family Institute

Liberty Counsel

Mass Resistance

Mission: America

Pacific Justice Institute

Pass the Salt Ministries

Pilgrims Covenant Church

Probe Ministries

Public Advocate of the United States

Ruth Institute

Save California

Stedfast Baptist Church

Sure Foundation Baptist Church

The Campus Ministry USA

The Pray in Jesus Name Project

Tom Brown Ministries

True Light Pentecost Church

United Families International

Verity Baptist Church

Warriors for Christ

Westboro Baptist Church

World Congress of Families/International Organization for the Family

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"Not merely the love of one person, but the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desire: that was the force that would tear the Party to pieces" (126)

Many Anti-LGBT groups mistakenly link homosexuality with pedophilia, saying that LGBT individuals themselves are dangers to children

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In May of 2012, President Obama became the first US president to publicly support the right for LGBT couples to marry.
Over 200 years, and 44 presidents and Obama is the first to openly support the rights of the LGBT community
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The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was passed in November of 1993. The policy preventing openly gay and lesbians from serving in the military, but if they are "closeted" then they can join.
Closeted: Not openly known as being homosexual or the like
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PROTECT EVERY KISS -STOP ANTI GAY VIOLENCE

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PROTECT EVERY KISS -STOP ANTI GAY VIOLENCE

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Protect Every Kiss - Stop Anti Gay Violence

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On June 28, 1969 Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York City.
A riot started among the people inside and near as police hauled employees and customs out, leading to six days of protesting.
LGBT individuals would use gay bars and clubs as a safe place, a place where they would not have worry about expressing themselves.
New York police penalized and shut down establishments that LGBT people were even suspected of being served, saying the "mere gathering of homosexuals was 'disorderly'" (history.com)
The riots helped start the LGBT Rights movement.
The first gay pride parade was held on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in honor of them

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Constant Raids at Gay Bars

The 1960s and preceding decades were not welcoming times for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. For instance, solicitation of same-sex relations was illegal in New York City.

For such reasons, LGBT individuals flocked to gay bars and clubs, places of refuge where they could express themselves openly and socialize without worry. However, the New York State Liquor Authority penalized and shut down establishments that served alcohol to known or suspected LGBT individuals, arguing that the mere gathering of homosexuals was "disorderly."

Thanks to activists' efforts, these regulations were overturned in 1966, and LGBT patrons could then be served alcohol. But engaging in gay behavior in public (holding hands, kissing or dancing with someone of the same sex) was still illegal, so police harassment of gay bars continued and many bars still operated without liquor licenses-in part because they were owned by the Mafia.

Gay Rights Before Stonewall

The first documented U.S. gay rights organization, The Society for Human Rights (SHR), was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant. Police raids forced them to disband in 1925, but not before they had published several issues of their newsletter, "Friendship and Freedom," the country's first gay-interest newsletter. America's first lesbian rights organization, The Daughters of Bilitis, was formed in San Francisco on September 21, 1955.

In 1966, three years before Stonewall, members of The Mattachine Society, an organization dedicated to gay rights, staged a "sip-in" where they openly declared their sexuality at taverns, daring staff to turn them away and suing establishments who did. When The Commission on Human Rights ruled that gay individuals had the right to be served in bars, police raids were temporarily reduced.

The Stonewall Inn

The crime syndicate saw profit in catering to shunned gay clientele, and by the mid-1960s, the Genovese crime family controlled most Greenwich Village gay bars. In 1966, they purchased Stonewall Inn (a "straight" bar and restaurant), cheaply renovated it, and reopened it the next year as a gay bar.

Stonewall Inn was registered as a type of private "bottle bar," which did not require a liquor license because patrons were supposed to bring their own liquor. Club attendees had to sign their names in a book upon entry to maintain the club's false exclusivity. The Genovese family bribed New York's Sixth Police Precinct to ignore the activities occurring within the club.

Without police interference, the crime family could cut costs how they saw fit: The club lacked a fire exit, running water behind the bar to wash glasses, clean toilets that didn't routinely overflow and palatable drinks that weren't watered down beyond recognition. What's more, the Mafia reportedly blackmailed the club's wealthier patrons who wanted to keep their sexuality a secret.

Nonetheless, Stonewall Inn quickly became an important Greenwich Village institution. It was large and relatively cheap to enter. It welcomed drag queens, who received a bitter reception at other gay bars and clubs. It was a nightly home for many runaways and homeless gay youths, who panhandled or shoplifted to afford the entry fee. And it was one of the few-if not the only-gay bar left that allowed dancing.

Raids were still a fact of life, but usually corrupt cops would tip off Mafia-run bars before they occurred, allowing owners to stash the alcohol (sold without a liquor license) and hide other illegal activities. In fact, the NYPD had stormed Stonewall Inn just a few days before the riot-inducing raid.

The Stonewall Riots Begin

When police raided Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28, it came as a surprise-the bar wasn't tipped off this time.

Armed with a warrant, police officers entered the club, roughed up patrons, and, finding bootlegged alcohol, arrested 13 people, including employees and people violating the state's gender-appropriate clothing statute (female officers would take suspected cross-dressing patrons into the bathroom to check their sex).

Fed up with constant police harassment and social discrimination, angry patrons and neighborhood residents hung around outside of the bar rather than disperse, becoming increasingly agitated as the events unfolded and people were aggressively manhandled. At one point, an officer hit a lesbian over the head as he forced her into the police van- she shouted to onlookers to act, inciting the crowd to begin throw pennies, bottles, cobble stones and other objects at the police.

Within minutes, a full-blown riot involving hundreds of people began. The police, a few prisoners and a Village Voice writer barricaded themselves in the bar, which the mob attempted to set on fire after breaching the barricade repeatedly.

The fire department and a riot squad were eventually able to douse the flames, rescue those inside Stonewall, and disperse the crowd. But the protests, sometimes involving thousands of people, continued in the area for five more days, flaring up at one point after the Village Voice published its account of the riots.

Stonewall's Legacy

Though the Stonewall uprising didn't start the gay rights movement, it was a galvanizing force for LGBT political activism, leading to numerous gay rights organizations, including the Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), and PFLAG (formerly Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

On the one-year anniversary of the riots on June 28, 1970, thousands of people marched in the streets of Manhattan from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park in what was then called "Christopher Street Liberation Day," America's first gay pride parade. The parade's official chant was: "Say it loud, gay is proud."

In 2016, then-President Barack Obama designated the site of the riots-Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and the surrounding streets and sidewalks-a national monument in recognition of the area's contribution to gay rights.

Photo Gallery

HISTORY Vault

Sources

A History of Gay Rights in America. CBS.
LGBTQ Activism: The Henry Gerber House, Chicago, IL. NPS.gov.

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1969 Stonewall Riots - Origins, Timeline & Leaders

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The Stonewall Riots, also called the Stonewall Uprising, took place on June 28, 1969, in New York City, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a local gay club. The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

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What you need to know about the gay rights movement

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Conversion therapy is where they try to 'convert' you from being gay

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What is conversion therapy?

Conversion therapy, sometimes referred to as "reparative therapy," is any of several dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapists use a variety of shaming, emotionally traumatic or physically painful stimuli to make their victims associate those stimuli with their LGBTQ identities. According to studies by the UCLA Williams Institute, more than 700,000 LGBTQ people have been subjected to the horrors of conversion therapy, and an estimated 80,000 LGBTQ youth will experience this unprofessional conduct in coming years, often at the insistence of well-intentioned but misinformed parents or caretakers.

Does conversion therapy work?

No. Conversion therapy is premised on the false notion that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that should be cured, despite all major medical associations' agreement that LGBTQ identities are a normal variant of human nature. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association determined that homosexuality was not a mental illness in 1973.

In addition to its flawed foundation, no credible scientific study has ever supported the claims of conversion therapists to actually change a person's sexual orientation. On the contrary, a 2007 report by an American Psychological Association task force found that "results of scientifically valid research indicate that it is unlikely that individuals will be able to reduce same-sex attractions or increase other-sex sexual attractions through [sexual orientation change efforts]." In fact, Dr. Robert Spitzer, whose research had previously been misused to support conversion therapy, has retracted his original claims, stating that data regarding conversion therapy had been misinterpreted and that there is no conclusive evidence for its effectiveness.

Is conversion therapy harmful?

Yes. The risks of conversion therapy extend far beyond its ineffectiveness, and the time and money wasted on "therapies" that don't work. The American Psychiatric Association has clarified that "the potential risks of reparative therapy are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient." The Pan American Health Organization, a regional office of the World Health Organization, concluded that conversion therapy, "lack[s] medical justification and represent[s] a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people."

Conversion therapy amplifies the shame and stigma so many LGBTQ young people already experience. Parents who send their child to conversion therapy instill feelings of family rejection and disappointment and risk seriously fracturing their relationship with their child. In a study by San Francisco State University, lesbian, gay and bisexual youth who were rejected by their families and caregivers due to their identities were nearly six times more likely to report high levels of depression and more than eight times more likely to have attempted suicide when compared to youth from accepting and affirming families and caregivers. Few practices hurt LGBTQ youth more than attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. All youth deserve a climate in which they are loved and embraced.

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About Conversion Therapy - The Trevor Project

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Conversion therapy, sometimes referred to as "reparative therapy," is any of several dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapists use a variety of shaming, emotionally traumatic or physically painful stimuli to make their victims associate those stimuli with their LGBTQ identities.

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January 1978 - Harvey Milk is the first openly gay man to be elected into a political office in California. November of the same year, Milk and Mayor George Moscone are murdered.

October 1998 - Matthew Shepard is tied to a fence and beaten and dies later due to injuries sustained in the beating.
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Takeaways from this article:
1.The White House is seeking to ban transgender individuals from joining the military
2.The Department of Justice supported a Colorado baker when he was sued for refusing to make a wedding cake for a couple of the same sex
3."Many leaders and spokespeople of anti-LGBT groups have engaged in the crudest type of name-calling, describing LGBT people as "perverts" with "filthy habits" who seek to "convert" or “recruit” the children of straight parents into a “homosexual lifestyle.”

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Anti-LGBTQ+ ideology opposes rights, spreads harmful pseudoscience, and uses demonizing rhetoric to portray LGBTQ+ people as threats to society.

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"All marriages between Party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the purpose, and - though the principle was never clearly stated - permission was always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically a attracted to one another" (65)

In some places, gay marriage is legal, however, it is very highly discouraged

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"No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred" (126)

November 1995 - The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act is passed, which allows a harsher sentence if there is evidence to say a victim was picked because of the "actual or perceived. . . sexual orientation of any person"

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The Rejected was the first US televised documentary on homosexuality to air on a local station in California

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Please note: copyright to The Rejected is held by WNET. All rights reserved. WNET is the premier public media provider of the New York metropolitan area and parent of public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21.

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Some people use God as an excuse to be anti-gay, yet in other instances, they say that God loves everyone and forgives people

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July 1961 - Illinois is the first state to decriminalize homosexuality by repealing their sodomy laws
Sodomy Laws: a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes

March 1982 - Wisconsin is the first state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation

September 2005 - California is the first state to pass a bill allowing marriage between same-sex couples.
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https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/anti-lgbt

https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots

https://www.lambdalegal.org/issues/anti-lgbt-rulings-laws-and-amendments

https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/us/lgbt-rights-milestones-fast-facts/index.html

https://www.amnestyusa.org/anti-homosexuality-bill-could-mean-a-death-sentence-for-lgbt-people-in-uganda/