We tied the knot and drank the champagne; must we smash the glasses?

We tied the knot and drank the champagne; must we smash the glasses?
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What began as the Stonewall Riots in 1969 was the beginning of the Gay Revolution in New York when a young mob of effeminate, homeless, Black, White, Hispanic, and Transgender patrons at the Stonewall refused to leave when police staged a raid there. Followed by a week of riots and unrest, the Stonewall riots is compared to a herd of Bulls out of control and a spiraling tornado that made its path across the nation and around the world.

The Bulls (drag queens, black, white, Puerto Ricans, lesbians, and transgender people) ignited a flame and started a stampede which incited the Stonewall riots. The Bears (white guys) stood guard over the political and social arenas which brought the Gay Rights Movement front and center. They held meetings, established organizations, conducted protests and marches, and they followed the Black Civil Rights Movement and won, the same way that Blacks and Whites won the Civil Rights Movement.

They marched in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. They boycotted pharmaceutical establishments. They rallied for HIV-AIDS medications from the White House, the federal, state. and local governments.

The Bulls started the battle, and the Bears finished the war. They did it as a united force using the ever so familiar slogan, "There is Power in Numbers." This is how Same-sex Marriage and Gay Equality was won!

Won by a united coalition of LGBT Organizations worldwide which included every race, creed, and color.

However, it was Lillian Faderman who said, "The Stonewall Rebellion was crucial because it sounded the rally for the movement. It became an emblem of gay and lesbian power." She calls the Stonewall riots "the shot heard around the world."

Nevertheless, same-sex marriage remain under attack by homophobic and religious groups. Do not smash the glasses, just yet!

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