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Show By BREANNA HART Columnist We’ve come a long way since the first brick was thrown at Stonewall. Fifty-one years ago in Manhattan, New York, at the end of June, a riot broke out in Greenwich Village. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the New York City police raided a gay bar called Stonewall Inn. This raid led to six days of protests, some turning violent. The Stonewall riots were the catalyst to today’s LGBTQ movements in the United States and around the world. In the years leading up to 1969, queer people saw laws passed that restricted their rights. Because of these restrictions, many LGBTQ people found solace and refuge in gay bars. Here, they felt they could be themselves. Even these spaces were subject to unfair restrictions and laws, though. The New York Liquor Authority shut down establishments that served alcohol to “known or suspected LGBT individuals,” according to History.com. The gathering of LGBTQ people was considered “disorderly” by the New York Liquor Authority, but by 1966 these restrictive regulations were overturned. Despite the small changes being made by activists, it was still illegal to perform “homo- People gather in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the annual Pride Parade in 2019. sexual acts” in public, such as two individuals of the same presenting gender holding hands queer patrons licenses, but the police were of- employees and people who were not complyor kissing. During this time, police raided gay ten paid off by the mafia for advance warnings ing with the gender-appropriate clothing laws. bars specifically looking for anyone taking of raids or turning a blind eye, according to Patrons of this gay bar didn’t disperse as the part in what they would consider homosexual History.com. Despite the hush funds, the po- police were telling them to. Instead, they stood behavior under the guise of looking for the il- lice would often do surprise raids every once in the street outside the bar and watched as legal sale of alcohol. People were also arrested in a while, as was the case with the Stonewall their friends were being arrested. The patrons in these raids if they were not wearing at least Inn early in the morning of June 28, 1969. were angry with the fact they were discrimithree pieces of clothing that were appropriate As police stormed into the Stonewall Inn nated against and harassed by police officers for their gender, according to an article by Re- on that fateful morning, they found a signifi- once again. They were angry, and rightfully so. finery29. cant amount of bootlegged alcohol and many This anger transferred into their actions as they Gay bars often didn’t have liquor licenses queer people violating the state’s restrictions. began to become more agitated. According to because the New York State Liquor Authority The police made 13 arrests, which included History.com, a police officer hit a lesbian womdid not permit establishments who served Sara Parker | The Signpost 4 | MyWeberMedia.com| June 8, 2021 an over the head as he was trying to shove her into a police car. She shouted for the crowd to do something, to take action. The angry crowd of patrons began yelling and throwing things they found on the ground at officers in an attempt to get them to stop. In minutes, a riot was well underway. Police officers and those they had arrested barricaded themselves inside in an attempt to get away from the violence. The riots escalated as the crowd set the Stonewall Inn on fire; the fire department was called and was able to put |