Stonewall Riots

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, spontaneous, and violent demonstrations against police harassment by patrons of a New York City gay bar. It was the first time in our history when the homosexual community rage poured out against a government-backed legal machine openly persecuting the gay community. Since then the campaign for equal rights for American gays and lesbians has made great strides. Today, few Americans, except the clearly homophile groups, would subscribe to the broad discrimination and shunning that forced most gays into the closet back in the 1950s and 1960s, with devastating consequences for them and their loved ones.
Last year, I read a lot about the Academy Award-winning film "Milk," a story about San Francisco City Councilman Harvey Milk's campaign for gay rights. I haven’t seen the movie, but I remember his murder extremely well. I’m not homosexual, but still I find myself appalled by Anita Bryant in her crusade to expel all gay employees from California's schools in those days. Today, her rhetoric and extreme rightists would be enough to dissuade anybody who believes in the quality of life for all Americans from taking her seriously.
Yet, despite the progress and acceptance of the homosexual community by most Americans, one thing I continue to see is their dream for equality is a dream denied. That too many sincere, God loving people live in a family value hypocrisy, incapable of putting themselves in the place of two people who are in a loving relationship and understand that they yearn for the same happiness and acceptance as any other couple.
Here’s a quick question, what one thing in common do these professed lovers of the sanctity of marriage, Mark Sanford, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani and Larry Craig have in common? You guessed it. Maybe, just maybe the remembrance of the Stonewall riots will help us to respect each other for who we are if nothing else.