Why did police raid gay bars in the 60s

Last Updated: July 18, The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighboring streets and in nearby Christopher Park. The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

The s and preceding decades were not welcoming times for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBT Americans. For instance, solicitation of same-sex relations was illegal in New York City. For such reasons, LGBT individuals flocked to gay bars and clubs, places of refuge where they could express themselves openly and socialize without worry.

But engaging in gay behavior in public holding hands, kissing or dancing with someone of the same sex was still illegal, so police harassment of gay bars continued and many bars still operated without liquor licenses—in part because they were owned by the Mafia.

The gay rights movement and the Mob

The Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. Learn how. The first documented U. When The Commission on Human Rights ruled that gay individuals had the right to be served in bars, police raids were temporarily reduced. Shortly after the historic Stonewall protest intwo transgender activists, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson, embarked on a mission to protect one of New York City's most vulnerable communities.

The crime syndicate saw profit in catering to shunned gay clientele, and by the mids, the Genovese crime family controlled most Greenwich Village gay bars. By: Joseph Bennington-Castro. Nonetheless, Stonewall Inn quickly became an important Greenwich Village institution. It was large and relatively cheap to enter.

It welcomed drag queens, who received a bitter reception at other gay bars and clubs. It was a nightly home for many runaways and homeless gay youths, who panhandled or shoplifted to afford the entry fee. And it was one of the few—if not the only—gay bar left that allowed dancing. Raids were still a fact of life, but usually corrupt cops would tip off Mafia-run bars before they occurred, allowing owners to stash the alcohol sold without a liquor license and hide other illegal activities.

Fed up with constant police harassment and social discrimination, angry patrons and neighborhood residents hung around outside of the bar rather than disperse, becoming increasingly agitated as the events unfolded and people were aggressively manhandled. At one point, an officer hit a lesbian over the head as he forced her into the police van— she shouted to onlookers to act, inciting the crowd to begin throw pennies, bottles, cobble stones and other objects at the police.

Within minutes, a full-blown riot involving hundreds of people began. The police, a few prisoners and a Village Voice writer barricaded themselves in the bar, which the mob attempted to set on fire after breaching the barricade repeatedly. The fire department and a riot squad were eventually able to douse the flames, rescue those inside Stonewall, and disperse the crowd.

But the protests, sometimes involving thousands of people, continued in the area for five more days, flaring up at one point after the Village Voice published its account of the riots. At the time, homosexual acts remained illegal in every state except Illinois, and bars and restaurants could get shut down for having gay employees or serving gay patrons.

During the early hours of June 28,the Stonewall Inn was raided by police with no warning.