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The Stonewall Riots (written for the Pride Week issue of The Critic - Otago University's Paper).
This Pride Week it's important to remember those men and women who fought for our rights. Those who dared to confront the prejudice and injustice of a less tolerant era. The stonewall riots are seen as a turning point in Queer history - the moment when our brave forbears kicked the closet door open and demanded acceptance and equality; when they fought back against the discrimination and persecution they had endured for centuries. Their story, which ahs gained almost legendary status, is still empowering to gay sand other oppressed peoples today, as they continue to fight for their rights.
The Stonewall Inn was a small gay bar on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, New York. It operated as a private members' club to avoid the need for a liquor license. Sixties New York had a small but lively gay scene; it was not, however, without its problems. It was illegal to operate a a business catering for a homosexual clientele or to sever alcohol to homosexuals or suspected homosexuals. These restrictions frequently forced gay businesses into the control of the Mafia. Police would regularly 'raid' such establishments under the pretence of looking for violations in the alcohol control laws. In these raids, same sex couples were arrested for showing signs of affection, individuals were also arrested for wearing clothing of the opposite sex - behaviours considered 'unlawful' by the police. Many of those arrested had their names published in the paper the next day, which put them in danger of losing jobs and homes. The Stonewall Inn had been operating for two years without any raids - allegedly because the police accepted pay-offs. Around 3am on Friday, 27th June 1969, a raid did occur on the Stonewall Inn. The patrons were lined up to have their identification inspected; those without proper identification, drag queens and several employees were detained by police. The police had no reason to expect that this raid would be anything other than routine. On that night, however, 300-400 people, incensed by constant police harassment, began to protest this treatment and arrest of their friends. The growing crowd outside the Inn started shouting at the police and throwing lipsticks, compacts and handbags at them. As they grew angrier, they stepped up the attack with beer bottles, garbage cans and spiked heels. The police barricaded themselves inside the Inn for safety and called for backup. While inside, probably out of a need to reassert their wounded male pride, they began smashing the place to bits. To the rescue came the Tactical Police Force - the special riot squad - in full riot gear. The confrontation continued into the early hours of the morning; flare-ups and small riots continued for the next couple of days. As one neighbour recounted: "It was just awful when the police came. It was like a swarm of hornets attacking a bunch of butterflies." Thirteen arrests were made and four police officers wounded: one with a broken wrist (the irony of which has not escaped many gay men). The Inn was closed on the grounds it was an illegal membership club with no license and no license to serve liquor. The Stonewall riots have been credited with sparking the modern Queer liberation movement throughout the world. It was the first time the Queer community fought back physically against police harassment. As the Daily News described it: "without warning, Queen power exploded with all the fury of a gay atomic bomb... New York city experienced its first homosexual riot." It heralded a new era of "Gay Power" and is enshrined as the watershed even in gay history. Immediately following the rots, Gay Liberation Fronts were formed in five US cities: by the end of 1970, 300 such Fronts had formed. Such movements sprung up around the world and have played a major role in reforming legislation, attitudes and behaviour. The queer crusade is far from over. We still must fight to extend and preserve our rights. If you want to be involved in this, then come along to Queer Avengers, the Queer political activist group here on Campus.
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