Bill Text: NY J01539 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 40-22)

Status: (Passed) 2019-06-04 - ADOPTED [J01539 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-J01539-Introduced.html

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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.