50 Years After Stonewall: Where Are We Now?

50 years ago today a few people decided that enough was enough. They didn’t go out that night intending to change the world, but that’s just what they did. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, yet another police raid was carried out at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York. At the time, police raids on gay bars were still relatively common. In an effort to make New York City less friendly to its non-straight residents, the city was taking away or refusing liquor licenses for gay bars. Additionally, policemen were working undercover to entrap gay men for “solicitation" and people not considered to be wearing gender-appropriate clothing were arrested.

At the time of the raid, the Stonewall Inn was operating without a liquor license and this was the excuse that was needed to raid. After these raids, people who had been arrested were often publicly outed and shamed.

However, this night, things changed. As the police started their routine of lining everyone up and asking for identification, people started to refuse. When faced with this, the police decided to take everyone to the station. While waiting for more vehicles, a crowd began to gather outside. The crowd grew and grew into a spontaneous riot/protest. Two nights of rioting, demonstrations, and violence followed.

This outbreak of violence was one of many moments that brought attention to the need for action and the need to fight for equal rights. Many previous attempts to progress queer causes had been peaceful and based on assimilation and respectability. Now there was a movement to celebrate and flaunt our differences, rather than hide them.

One year later, to celebrate the Stonewall Riots, the first pride parade was held. Ever since, we have been celebrating who we are and what we stand for openly and with pride.

50 years later there is still a lot of work to be done, but we’ve also made so much progress. In honor of those brave individuals, let's look at some of the incredible progress we've made after Stonewall.

Legalization of Same-Sex Sexual Activity

This is a low bar admittedly. However, there are still many countries in the world where same-sex sexual activity is illegal. That being said, there are far fewer of these countries than there were in 1969. 

In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Commission passed its first resolution recognizing LGBTI rights and the UN went on to urge all countries which have not already done so to enact laws protecting basic rights. 

Progress on this is slow, but ongoing. There are still countries in which homosexual behavior is punishable by death. However, every year more and more countries are legalizing same-sex sexual activity and enacting laws to protect their LGBTI communities. Just this year both Angola and Botswana have made same-sex sexual activity legal. 

Banning the Use of Conversion Therapy

Conversion therapy has no basis in science and can be incredibly harmful to the psyche of those subjected to it. 

When people can subject children to this, it is child abuse and governments are starting to recognize this fact. In recent years, we have seen a number of states and countries around the world ban the use of conversion therapy. The number of places taking this strong stand against conversion therapy is only growing.

Same-sex Marriage

In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. Since then, an additional 27 countries have joined the Netherlands in this monumental move. 

It is increasingly becoming possible around the world not only to love beyond gender, but to build a legal future with the person you love. This has a huge impact on things like health insurance, parental rights, partner rights, and overall mental health. 

Let's keep the ball rolling and see even more countries make this necessary move over the next years. 

PreP

The Stonewall Riots were a statement about our rights to exist. They also spurred a movement that changed the conversation. Previously, many advocates emphasized the respectability of the queer community. In fact, many of us don't want to live behind white picket fences mimicking a 1950s fantasy of straight marriage. 

Obviously the AIDS crisis hadn't started at the time of the Stonewall Riots, but it's fair to say that Prep has absolutely changed the conversation around HIV. 

Sitting on a bus one day, looking at a giant ad for PreP targeting gay men, the thing that really struck me was that I was looking at a huge public advertisement acknowledging sex between men and there was no judgment. Stonewall was about celebrating our queerness and PreP has allowed us to do so with less fear. 

Elected Officials

Not only are we making great strides in our own rights, but we are going into the world and changing it. No community can exist in a vacuum. I am thrilled that we are changing the world for the better by holding public office. 

In 1972, Sam Green was the first openly LGBTI candidate for a UK elected office and was the first openly gay councilor in the UK. In 1974, Elaine Noble was the first openly LGBTI candidate to be elected to the state legislature in the United States. Since then, the number of queer folks in politics has only increased. Currently 3 countries — Luxembourg, Ireland, and Serbia — have an LGBTI head of state.

In the US, we have a number of openly LGBTI politicians, including bi Oregon Governor Kate Brown and bi US Senator Krysten Sinema.

Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done, but even as we fight for our rights it is important to acknowledge the enormous progress we have made.

I don't know what the patrons of the Stonewall Inn were thinking as they were being arrested that night 50 years ago, but I hope that they would be proud to see where we are and where we are going in this moment.