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Article: Gay and Lesbian Movement
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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GAY AND LESBIAN MOVEMENT
GAY AND LESBIAN MOVEMENT.
The Gay and Lesbian movement in the United States refers to organized efforts to fight prejudice, discrimination, and persecution resulting from the classification of homosexuality as sin, crime, or illness. While its proponents disagree about both tactics and definitions of homosexuality, they unite around the concept of homosexuality as a component of personal and political identity. Although historians often date the movement's origin from the June 1969 riot at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City where patrons fought with police, early manifestations of gay and lesbian activism date before World War II.
Although distinct ...