When every state in the U.S. except for Illinois criminalized homosexual sex between consenting adults in a private home in 1961: "An adult convicted of the crime of having sex with another consenting adult [of the same gender] in the privacy of his or her home could get anywhere from a light fine to five, ten, or twenty years—or even life—in prison.In 1971, twenty states had 'sex psychopath' laws that permitted the detaining of homosexuals for that reason alone. In Pennsylvania and California sex offenders could be locked in a mental institution for life, and [in] seven states they could be castrated." Castration, emetics, hypnosis, electroshock therapy and lobotomies were used by psychiatrists to attempt to cure homosexuals of their desires through the 1950s and 1960s.
American gays and lesbians in the 1950s and 1960s faced a legal system more anti-homosexual than those of some Warsaw Pact countries. Early homophile groups in the U.S. sought to prove that gay people could be assimilated into society, and they favored non-confrontational education for homosexuals and heterosexuals alike.
The last years of the 1960s, however, were very contentious, as many social movements were active, including the African American Civil Rights Movement, the Counterculture of the 1960s, and antiwar demonstrations. These influences, along with the liberal environment of Greenwich Village, served as catalysts for the Stonewall riots.
Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s. Those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. The Stonewall Inn catered to an assortment of patrons, but it was known to be popular with the most marginalized people in the gay community: transvestites, effeminate young men, hustlers, and homeless youth.
Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn in late June of 1969, and attracted a crowd that was incited to riot. Tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening, and again several nights later. Within weeks, Village residents quickly organized into activist groups to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested.
After the Stonewall riots, gays and lesbians in New York City faced gender, class, and generational obstacles to becoming a cohesive community. Within six months, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, concentrating on confrontational tactics, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gays and lesbians.
Within a few years, gay rights organizations were founded across the U.S. and the world. On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride marches took place in Los Angeles and New York commemorating the anniversary of the riots. Similar marches were organized in other cities. Now, Gay Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots.
Today, June 28th, is the 40th anniversary of this landmark stand of the last legally oppressed minority group in America.
For us gays, it's our Lexington and Concord.
It's our Storming of the Bastille.
It's our toppling of the Berlin Wall.
It's the first night we stood as a quasi-community and said loud and clear (in spirit, of course, since the actual phrase would come much later): "We're Here, We're Queer, Get Used to It!"