Senate Resolution No. 1539

BY: Senator HOYLMAN

COMMEMORATING the 50th Anniversary of the
Stonewall Riots ("Stonewall"), a series of
spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ
community that took place in the early morning hours
on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York
City and led to the modern international LGBTQ human
rights movement

WHEREAS, Stonewall, which was led by transgender and gender
non-conforming people, lasted five nights and served as a galvanizing
moment for the LGBTQ activist community to unite in a nationwide
movement fighting for LGBTQ rights; and

WHEREAS, The dedication and persistence of activists ensured that
the anniversary of Stonewall would become a day to memorialize,
celebrate, and honor, with the organization of the first annual Pride
march in 1970 commemorating one year of Stonewall; and

WHEREAS, It was the dedication of these activists that ensured that
the memory of Stonewall would become a rallying cry for the emancipatory
struggle of LGBTQ people across the world; and

WHEREAS, At the time of Stonewall, "soliciting homosexual relations"
and wearing "gender-inappropriate dress" were considered crimes in New
York and the majority of states, where punishment could include fines
and imprisonment; and

WHEREAS, In such an environment of legalized hostility, Stonewall
would become the genesis of the LGBTQ movement by serving as a common
ground not only for gay and lesbian people but also for drag queens,
transgender people, sex workers, and homeless youth; and

WHEREAS, Police officers would periodically raid the Stonewall Inn,
harass patrons, and issue arrests for alleged "crimes"; and

WHEREAS, When one such raid occurred in the early morning hours of
June 28, 1969, the patrons rose up to defend themselves; and

WHEREAS, Throughout the night a crowd numbering between 500 to 600
people demonstrated, sang protest songs, and took a stand for LGBTQ
rights; and

WHEREAS, By 4:00 am the crowd dissipated, but the same could not be
said of the emancipatory spirit awakened by the riots since the crowd
returned the following four evenings to reassert their will to live in a
world free from anti-LGBTQ harassment and hostility; and

WHEREAS, These protests unleashed a revolutionary power that
inspired the global LGBTQ Pride movement and a new wave of activism with
the founding of the Gay Liberation Front, the Gay Activists Alliance, as
well as new publications like Gay, Come Out!, and Gay Power; and

WHEREAS, The spirit of Pride and Stonewall is preserved today by the
important work of those individuals and organizations working together
across the world to commemorate the legacy of Stonewall's 50th
Anniversary; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Stonewall Inn, New York City.