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1969 - In June, the Stonewall Riots in New York City's Greenwich village marked the beginning of major resistence by gay men and lesbians to discrimination. Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay pub, and were caught off guard by the amount of resistance levied by patrons. The police had to barricade themselves inside the Inn to protect themselves from the patrons who were throwing bricks and bottles. This was the first substantial resistance to harrassment that gay men and lesbians had put foreward. The Stonewall riots are often referred to as the "Boston Tea Party of the Gay Liberation Movement."
Other Links: History of Homosexuality
1970 - In the summer, just one short year after the Stonewall Riots, about 200 Chicagoans took to the streets of their city with signs carrying simple messages such as "I am Gay," "Gay is as Good as Straight," and "I Exist!."
1978 - On November 27, Harvey Milk, an openly gay city council member and San Francisco's Mayor George Moscone were murdered. In 1979, the convicted murderer Dan White, received a verdict of voluntary manslaughter and a sentence of 7-8 years. This caused massive protests throughout the country as gay men and lesbians saw this as yet another blatant example of discrimination.
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1978 - Proposition 6 appeared on the ballot in California. This initiative, if passed, would have required the dismissal of any teacher known to be a homosexual. Californians defeated this measure by a vote of 2 to 1 but other such threats to the rights of lesbians and gay men were springing up throughout the country.
1979 - On May 31, the California Supreme Court made a landmark decision that public utility companies may not arbitrarily refuse to hire homosexuals, nor can they intefere with employee involvement in gay organizations.
1979 - On October 14, the first National March on Washington D.C. was held. Over 100,000 people were in attendance.
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