832 Chapter 31 From Boomers to Millennials
lost momentum and stalled, falling just three states
short. By 1980, the ERA was dead.^1
The Rise of Gay and Lesbian Rights
The rhetoric of “minority rights” and the example
of activists in other movements during the 1960s
encouraged gay rights activists to demand that
society cease harassing and discriminating against
them.In 1969, New York City police raided the
Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich
Village and arrested the occupants—most of them
gays—for “solicitation” of illegal sexual acts. The
crowd outside threw rocks and bottles and the
police were forced to retreat. The Stonewall riot
lasted for several days and marked a turning point
in the history of gays and lesbians. No longer
would gays in Greenwich Village remain “in the
closet”—hidden from view. Public advocacy of
their cause strengthened it immeasurably.
As gay and lesbian relationships became the sub-
ject of public discussion rather than private innuendo,
gay activists embarked on numerous campaigns to
eliminate discrimination against gays. Gay psychiatrists
challenged the American Psychiatric Association’s
longstanding judgment that homosexuality was a treat-
able mental illness. In 1973 the association’s board of
directors agreed to remove homosexuality from the
standard manual of psychiatric disorders. Disgruntled
traditionalists challenged the decision and forced the
directors to put the matter up for a vote of the entire
membership. In 1974 the members upheld the direc-
tors. The next year the American Psychological
Association concurred. Homosexuality was not a men-
tal illness.
Gay and lesbian activists also filed suits to elimi-
nate discrimination against gays in education, hous-
ing, education, and employment. In response to suchHarvey Milk was the first openly gay candidate to be elected to office in California.
(^1) Various Supreme Court decisions, such asReed v. Reed(1971),
struck down laws that failed to provide “equal protection” of men
and women or applied arbitrary standards in making legal distinc-
tions between the rights of men and women.