LGBT Historic Marker.ai
The U.S. state of New York has generally been seen as socially liberal in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights. [1] LGBTQ travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". [2] The advocacy movement for LGBTQ rights in the state has been dated as far. The anonymity of big cities allows persecuted sub-cultures and identities to find room to exist. In the United States, New York was one of the major sites for gay liberation.
LGBTQ+ Rights
October 11th is National Coming Out Day, an annual observance that supports living authentically and raises awareness of the LGBTQ+ community and its fight for equal rights. This day of awareness provides an opportunity to look back at how the New York State Bar Association has helped advance LGBTQ+ rights in New York and beyond. The Battle for Intro. First introduced in , the bill languished through three mayoral administrations, facing opposition from the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, Orthodox rabbis, and the New York Catholic Archdiocese. Reflections on Coming Out Day
In , the Stonewall Inn was one of the most popular gay bars in New York City. Throughout the state it was illegal to serve alcohol to a gay person until , and in , homosexuality was still considered a criminal offense. This led many gay establishments to operate sans liquor license, providing an open door for raids and police brutality. In the early s, same-sex marriage was not only a national matter of concern but a key issue that the association was grappling with. In , the U. NYPL, 1969
Stonewall was owned by the mafia and only made it a gay club as they knew the LGBTQ+ would not report them to the police with homosexuality still being illegal in New York. The year marked a major turning point in the politics of sexuality in America. Same-sex relationships were discreetly tolerated in 19th-century America in the form of romantic friendships, but the 20th century brought increasing legal and medical regulation of homosexuality, which was considered a dangerous illness. 
The Battle for Intro. 2
The IGIC archives, along with other archives and collections subsequently donated to the Library, comprehensively document the gay and lesbian civil rights struggles in New York since the s and have made NYPL one of the most important archives of LGBT history in this country. In the early hours of June 28, , police raided the Stonewall Inn—an unlicensed club popular among a racially diverse mix of gay, lesbian, and transgender New Yorkers. The state routinely denied liquor licenses to bars that catered to gay patrons, which led to gatherings in unlicensed establishments.
The Empire State and LGBT Criminal Law
In the early hours of June 28, , police raided the Stonewall Inn—an unlicensed club popular among a racially diverse mix of gay, lesbian, and transgender New Yorkers. The state routinely denied liquor licenses to bars that catered to gay patrons, which led to gatherings in unlicensed establishments. The Stonewall raid sparked three days of protests on the streets of Greenwich Village. . LGBTQ rights in New York
PFLAG supporters at a gay rights event (Photo courtesy of LaGuardia & Wagner Archives) The Battle for Intro. 2: The New York City Gay Rights Bill, – LaGuardia & Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College Online Exhibit Curated by Stephen Petrus In March , New York City’s gay and lesbian community celebrated a political victory that was fifteen years in the making: the. . 
Today in History
Pro-gay and lesbian activism, advocating for rights in New York, began in the s and 60s. The Stonewall Riots, a response to police raids of gay establishments in New York City, have been recognized by many as the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. In NYS, same-sex sexual relations were illegal for most of New York’s. .