Importance

The earliest evidence of LGBT people came from Ancient Greece and Rome, where many men would have young male and female partners. Attitudes towards same-sex attraction changed when the Roman Empire fell under Christian rule. Throughout constant oppression, LGBT people persisted until the 1920s, where queer people received a level of acceptance that was not seen again until the 1970s. The Stonewall Riots of 1969 are widely regarded as the starting point of the Gay Rights Movement. When police began shutting down gay bars, LGBT began to take a stand. This all came to a head when the police raided a bar known as the Stonewall Inn. 4 days of rioting between LGBTQ people and police officers followed. The news coverage was considerably small but this event became an annual march that quickly gained traction. An era of liberalism in the 1970s gave way to more acceptance for queer people. However, due to the HIV epidemic being commonly linked to gay men, the 1980s was a time of considerable homophobia. From 1961 to 2003, homosexuality was decriminalized in every U.S state. Nowadays, same sex marriage has been legalized in many first world countries, but there is still a long way to go before LGBT people are treated equally in society.

A major reason why this movement is so important is that it pushes to remedy the mistreatment of queer people throughout history. Historically, persecution of gay people through laws was limited to male homosexuality, a crime punishable by death in most places until around the 19th century. In the Book of Leviticus in the Torah, it prescribes the death penalty to male homosexuals. In nearly every European country, laws prosecuting homosexuals existed from the 4th to the 20th century. Although these laws focused on male homosexuality, the entire LGBTQ community has been targeted for violence for a very long time. This community was one of the many groups targeted in the Holocaust of Nazi Germany. In most countries today, acts of violence against LGBT people are considered hate crimes. These brutal hate crimes still occur very often to this day and are a main cause of fear within this community. These movements for social equality or liberation for LGBTQ people allow them to feel accepted and loved while pressuring governments and people to change their ways in an attempt to make up for the tragedies of the past.