Lawmakers Call For Stonewall Inn To Be Made National Park
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Two New York legislators are leading a campaign to designate Stonewall Inn as the first national park honoring LGBT history.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler made their announcement Sunday in front of the Greenwich Village tavern that was the scene of a 1969 uprising at a key moment for the nascent gay rights movement.
The two Democrats were joined by other elected officials and members of the National Parks Conservation Association.
National parks can only be created by an act of Congress. They include sites of cultural or historic importance.
Gillibrand says she and Nadler are first asking President Barack Obama to declare Stonewall a monument. A congressional vote on park status would come later.
"We have a responsibility to preserve and respect the places important to our history, and the Stonewall Inn deserves our highest recognition," Gillibrand said. "Victories like the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' the passage of marriage equality in New York State and the final, decisive Supreme Court ruling securing our freedom to marry, were borne from the modern equal rights movement launched at Stonewall. It's time for a national monument honoring the legacy of people and events that took place here."
"The legacy of the Stonewall Rebellion mirrors that of our nation: a group of individuals standing together against all odds to demand their freedom," said Nadler. "As the struggle to ensure equality for all continues, I am proud to stand with this coalition to remember the spark that launched the LGBT civil rights movement. We urge President Obama to designate the first ever National Park Service site dedicated to the history of the LGBT community, so that this story may be preserved and retold for future generations."
Stonewall would be the first park representing the LGBT community.
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