US

Obama Designates NY City Gay Bar As National Monument After Orlando Shooting

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President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall Inn, the supposed birthplace of the gay rights movement, as a National Monument on the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.

“The designation will create the first official National Park Service unit dedicated to telling the story of LGBT Americans, just days before the one year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in all 50 states,” according to the White House.

The Stonewall Inn is considered the birthplace of the gay rights movement after a 1969 police raid set off a series of riots. The police were looking for bootlegged alcohol brought in by the bar’s Mafia owners, but the raid didn’t go as planned.

The White House said police were there to enforce a law banning the sale of alcohol to “homosexuals,” and officials tied the riot to the recent mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., when Islamic terrorist Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people in a gay night club and injured 53.

“Although the LGBT civil rights movement has made significant progress in the pursuit of equal rights and protections under the law, there is still more work to do,” the White House said in a statement.

“As seen two weeks ago in Orlando, FL, LGBT Americans continue to face acts of violence, discrimination, and hate. LGBT people of color are especially at risk,” according to The White House. “The Administration is committed to continuing the fight for dignity, acceptance and equal rights for all Americans — no matter who they are or who they love.”

Obama’s announcement also comes one year after the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that gay marriage is a constitutional right, legalizing the practice in all 50 states.

“Stonewall is finally taking its rightful place in American history,” New York Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler said, according to NPR.

“We are faced with painful reminders daily of how much further we must go to achieve true equality and tolerance for the LGBT community, but honoring and preserving the stories of all of the diverse participants in Stonewall in our National Park System is a clear symbol of how far we have come,” he said.

While Stonewall Inn is the first LGBT site to be designated a national monument, the president has designated other famed gay rights sites as National Historic Landmarks.

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