Gay Rights: The Stonewall Riots

Gay rights has been a long protested issue by both sides, for it and against it. One of the most famous groups that go against is the Westboro Baptist Church, who have many protests against the LGBTQ+ community as well as other things, but that is besides the point. They are not the only people that do this as well, some do it presentations in school, some do it on online posts or videos. There are many ways you can show your voice now and protest, though many people, like WBC do still picket with signs and screaming and hate. Each side of this movement has their own protests and riots, a well known riot in the 60’s was the Stonewall Riots. Groups of customers had grown angry with the police, who had been targeting specifically gay bars,

In the G.L.F. Manifesto, they claim that have been oppressed by “physical violence and by ideological and psychological attacks at every level of social interaction” (G.L.F., 1971)5. The G.L.F. had moved to All Saints Church Hall, the Notting Hill Police had told the bar landlords not to serve anyone with a GLF. This sparked conflict with police and caused sit-ins that turned to be successful. This group also abolished the idea that homosexuality had been a medical condition, which was the way it had been thought of for many years before (Steven,

Many things have changed during these modern times, as of June 26, 2015, gay marriage is legal throughout the United States, which is a large step for this community. But, there are still many states that do not have any laws protecting LGBTQ+ people. Such as Michigan; according to The Rolling Stone, “The Guardian's 2012 survey showed that Michigan has almost no protections for LGBT people at any level, putting it on par with Mississippi. Whereas fellow Midwestern states Ohio and Kentucky at least allow LGBT people limited adoption rights, Michigan law even goes so far as to ban surrogacy.” (Lang,