Commemorations were being held across the world on June 28 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising that practically launched the modern LGBT rights movement. The uprising began in the morning on June 28, 1969, when New York City police officers raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. As the police began dragging some of the patrons out, members of the gay community decided to fight back, sparking three days of rioting.
You can watch the video version of the radio documentary, Remembering Stonewall by Dave Isay on the website of one of the famous American TV and radio news program - Democracy Now.
On June, 29 the US President Barack Obama invited the members of LGBT community at the official lunch at White House marking the 40th anniversary of Stonewall and honoring LGBT Pride Month, www.nydailynews.com informs.
“To me, today’s event is more than just a reception honoring LGBT Pride Month, it is an opportunity for the Administration to provide the world with a snapshot of the real heroes across the country that do the day-to-day work fighting for equality,” said Brian Bond, the openly gay deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in his statement on the official website of White House at www.whitehouse.gov.
Obama’s reception was met with less optimism from the side of many LGBT activists who are criticizing him for maintaining the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” discriminatory policy still and for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), recently backed by Justice Department. The Act says that states don’t have to recognize same-sex marriages consummated in other states.
The US President told the audience of gathering that his administration is working actively with the Pentagon and Congress about ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as well as towards repealing DOMA that needs the support from Congress.
“We’ve been in office six months now,” he said to the LGBT activists in an assured tone, “and I suspect that by the time this administration’s over, you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration.”
Full text of the speech of US President is available at www.advocate.com.
In the early morning of June 28, on the 40-th anniversary of the Stonewall riots the hard incident, similar to Stonewall took place in Fort Worth, Texas. Six Fort Worth police officers and three Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents raided the gay bar, the Rainbow Lounge, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Seven patrons were arrested for “public intoxication”, including 26-year-old Chad Gibson, who remains hospitalized for a severe head injury sustained during his arrest.
The incident, which is being investigated, has drawn protests from the LGBT community, including a demonstration with about 100 people at the same day.
