Part II: The Gay Rights Movement in the US from 1860-1969 .
1860-1935: "The Movement that did not exist- 4.
2. 1950-1969: "The Three Major Groups and Their Aims and Criticisms-.
2.1 Mattachine Society 6.
2.2 One, Inc. 8.
2.3 Daughters of Bilitis 9.
Part III: The Stonewall Riots in 1969 11 Part IV: The Gay Liberation Front 13.
4.1 Carl Wittman's "A Gay Manifesto- 14.
Part V: A Few Last Words 17.
Bibliography 18.
Part I: Introduction.
In my paper, I will focus on the Gay Liberation Movement until the 1970s. The Gay movement extents beyond that time but I think the most crucial years of the movement were the 1960s and 1970s when the first major progress was made and the situation of the homosexuals was especially dire. Homosexual acts were forbidden by law in most of the states in the 1960s, same sex couples were also not allowed to marry or to adopt children. Often it was illegal for gays to work for the government, they were also discriminated by private employers, and they could not serve in the armed forces. They were treated unjustly and often violently by the police and did not find justice in the courts. Homosexuals were also ridiculed by society and encountered many problems in everyday life.1 Medical authorities regarded homosexuality as mental illness, which naturally did not help the homosexuals to get a better reputation. There are a number of other problems homosexuals encountered and still encounter today, for example even today homosexuals are advised against becoming teachers because of the negative consequences it could have when parents who are afraid for their children find out about it. Nevertheless, the situation of the homosexuals and their rights have improved tremendously since the beginnings of the Gay Liberation Movement and therefore I want to focus on the beginnings of this movement, its historical context and its most critical years.