Lawmakers Launch Campaign to Make Stonewall Inn a National Park Site

Two New York legislators are launching a campaign to designate the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village as the first national park site honoring LGBT history.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Jerrold Nadler are making their announcement in front of the tavern where a 1969 uprising marked the start of the gay rights movement.

Gillibrand and Nadler, both Democrats, are being joined by other elected officials, plus 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 like Stonewall, where protesters rioted against police that had raided the inn.

Stonewall would be the first park representing the LGBT community, while symbolizing the fight for equal rights.

The bar was given landmark status by New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission in a vote back in June.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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