5 Facts About Stonewall Riots

Stonewall Inn, a small two-story Greenwich Village bar, is often credited with being the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement. This accreditation originates with the 1969 Stonewall riots – riots that broke out after police raided the gay bar and the patrons fought back.

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The riots and demonstrations continued for nearly a week following the initial raid. Now, it is being considered as a city landmark by New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, according to CBS New York.

Here are 5 facts about the Stonewall riots:

Homosexuality was still considered as a mental disorder.
The American Psychiatric Association’s classification supported the widespread homosexual discrimination in the 1960s, according to PBS. During this time, homosexual sex was illegal in a majority of states.

The Stonewall Inn only had one exit – the front door.
Owned by the mafia, the bar often ignored health and fire code. Before police reinforcement came, rioters barricaded the police in the bar with an uprooted parking meter, New York Magazine reported.

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Over 100 gay men were arrested each week by the mid-1960s due to police efforts to shut down gay bars.
According to PBS, at the time a gay man had to choose between living in the closet or possible jail time for violating decency laws.

Several gay rights organizations formed following the riots.
The Gay Liberation Front was the first LGBT organization to openly use gay in its name, forming after the riots, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

The mafia took advantage of their power to operate gay bars.
The Stonewall Inn, owned by the mafia, was one of many gay bars that would bribe police and overcharge their customers, according to PBS. “While patrons complained about the poor conditions and underhanded business tactics that characterized Mafia-controlled gay bars and clubs like the Stonewall Inn, they also accepted that they would not likely have existed without the Mafia,” PBS said.

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