• U.S.
  • LGBT

Crowds at Stonewall Inn Celebrate Gay Rights Victory Decades in the Making

4 minute read

Crowds of people smiling and wiping away tears filled the street outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village on Friday, celebrating the Supreme Court’s landmark gay marriage ruling and marveling at how much has changed in the past 50 years.

The historic gay bar, which was just granted landmark status this week, was the site of riots in 1969 against police raids, protests that were credited with catalyzing the gay rights movement. On Friday, throngs of couples, families and tourists—gay and straight, young and old—all flocked to that site to pay tribute to the early gay rights pioneers and rejoice in the Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized same-sex marriage across all 50 states.

Mary O’Shaughnessy, 52, a gay IT manager from New York, recalled the years surrounding the Stonewall riots as a time of secrecy, and remembered two of her neighbors in particular, a pair of women who had been nurses in World War II and lived together in the 1960s.

Choking back tears, she said, “I hope that couples like them [are] looking down from wherever they are and enjoying.”

For many who gathered outside the Stonewall Inn, Friday brought a moment they had never envisioned in their lifetime.

Silent No More: Early Days in the Fight for Gay Rights

In commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, militants this year designated the last week in June as Gay Liberation Week and celebrated with a candlelight parade. The parade involved 300 male and female homosexuals, who marched without incident two miles from Gay Activists headquarters to a park near City Hall.
Caption from LIFE In commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, militants this year designated the last week in June as Gay Liberation Week and celebrated with a candlelight parade. The parade involved 300 male and female homosexuals, who marched without incident two miles from Gay Activists headquarters to a park near City Hall.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
When a bill guaranteeing equal job opportunities for homosexuals stalled in New York City Council last spring, militants demonstrated at City Hall. With fists raised, they shout a football style "Gay Power" cheer at police blocking the building.
Caption from LIFE When a bill guaranteeing equal job opportunities for homosexuals stalled in New York City Council last spring, militants demonstrated at City Hall. With fists raised, they shout a football style "Gay Power" cheer at police blocking the building.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights protest, 1971.
Gay rights protest, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A homosexual activist steps between a pair of police horses to be interviewed during a New York demonstration. Militants often charge police brutality and welcome arrest for the sake of publicity. They also encourage press coverage of their protest actions.
Caption from LIFE A homosexual activist steps between a pair of police horses to be interviewed during a New York demonstration. Militants often charge police brutality and welcome arrest for the sake of publicity. They also encourage press coverage of their protest actions.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights protest, 1971.
Gay rights protest, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights protest, California, 1971.
Gay rights protest, California, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Collared by a patrolman after he deliberately crossed police barricades at New York's City Hall, Gay Activists Alliance President Jim Owles submits to arrest. Members of his organization were protesting City Council reluctance to debate a fair employment bill for homosexuals.
Caption from LIFE Collared by a patrolman after he deliberately crossed police barricades at New York's City Hall, Gay Activists Alliance President Jim Owles submits to arrest. Members of his organization were protesting City Council reluctance to debate a fair employment bill for homosexuals.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.
Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay Pride, 1971.
Gay Pride, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay Activists Alliance, New York, 1971.
Gay Activists Alliance, New York, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights rally, 1971.
Gay rights rally, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Gay rights event, 1971.
Gay rights event, 1971.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Jeff Mead, a middle school English teacher from San Francisco, and Peter Born, an engineer, were married in California in 2008, in the short window between when the state legalized same-sex marriage and when Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment, banned it.

“When I graduated from high school–Catholic high school–in 1983, I didn’t even think that this would ever be on the map,” Mead, 50, said.

“It’s a big change,” Born agreed, grabbing Mead’s hand. “Especially for guys our age, who have come through the AIDS crisis and are still here. We’re excited and proud to be gay and be gay Americans and to be married as a gay couple after so many years together.”

Mead and Born, who have been together for 28 years, stood across from the Stonewall Inn at the edge of Christopher Park, watching people stream onto Christopher Street. A garbage truck passed, tooting its horn three times as a sign of support, as people ran behind it cheering.

Although same-sex marriage was legal in 37 states and Washington D.C. before the ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark case gave many gay people stability previously afforded only to straight couples.

Dana Stallard, 29, a social worker and Cynthia Stallard, 30, a lawyer, married four years ago in New York, right after the state legalized same-sex marriage. For them, this provides them the security to start a family.

“If we travel to other states, we’ll be protected,” Cynthia said. “[We’ll] be able to tell our kids that no matter where we are, they don’t have to worry about who their moms are. And that a state won’t tell them that we’re not both their parents.”

Lara Finkbeiner, 29, a lawyer from California, is getting married in Michigan in September.

“This means I get to have a legal wedding,” she said, pausing to compose herself. “Which is pretty incredible.”

But she added that the decision is not the final step in the gay rights movement.

“I hope we are able to parlay this into doing more systemic reform to uplift our entire community because there is still a lot of violence that people are facing every day,” she said. “We need to do a better job of incorporating other members of our community [and] uplifting transgender voices.”

Inside the bar, toast followed toast as the crowd raised glasses to celebrate the ruling. Among them was Laurence Frommer, who works with homeless queer youth in Greenwich Village and said he was “elated.”

“Now somewhere in this crowd there must be a husband,” Frommer, 51, joked.

But he then turned serious, noting that the ability to celebrate in public was a privilege not everyone in the country enjoyed.

“I’m worried about the backlash in some parts of this country. Our sisters and brothers are in places where they might be subject to retaliation,” he said.

But, still, for those congregated outside Stonewall on Friday, it was an overwhelmingly happy day.

“I think it’s important to take a moment and appreciate what we have here,” Harold Levine, 58, said.

See Scenes of Celebration After Supreme Court Gay Marriage Ruling

Supreme Court Gay Marriage Same Sex Marriage
Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015.Jacquelyn Martin—AP
Supreme Court Gay Marriage Same Sex Marriage
Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015.Mladen Antonov—AFP/Getty Images
Supreme Court Gay Marriage Same Sex Marriage
Gay rights supporters celebrate after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, June 26, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Gay Marriage
Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015.Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA
John Becker, Paul Guequierre
John Becker, right, hugs his friend and fellow LGBT advocate Paul Guequierre, outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 26, 2015.Jacquelyn Martin—AP
Supreme Court Gay Marriage Same Sex Marriage
Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015.Jim Bourg—Reuters
Supreme Court Gay Marriage Same Sex Marriage
Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015.Mladen Antonov—AFP/Getty Images
Sasha Altschuler
Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015.Manuel Balce Ceneta—AP

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com