In 1969, homosexual acts–kissing, holding hands, dancing together–were still illegal in New York.
Up until 1966, the New York State Liquor Authority would shut down or otherwise punish bars that sold alcohol to members of the LGBTQ+ community, arguing that a group of queer people was somehow inherently more disorderly than a group of straight people. Police regularly raided gay nightclubs, arresting people who were wearing clothing that didn’t conform to their assigned gender or were suspected of “soliciting” same-sex relations. In 1969, queer life was decidedly not something that could be celebrated by mainstream culture. “We celebrate Pride in the month of June because it marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. PRIDE hear looks a lot different than PRIDE in NYC in 1969. The rainbows everywhere, all the support- amazing. When I moved from a conservative town in north Florida to Seattle in 2012, the size of the PRIDE parade and the welcome from the city blew my mind and brought tears to my eyes.
PRIDE in Seattle is HUGE! Events all month, a giant parade through downtown, booths at the Seattle Center.
