In 1969, Stonewall Riots started the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) movement in New York. A group of gay customers at a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn were angry with unfair treatment by police outside, a riot broke out. As words spread throughout the city about the discrimination in Stonewall Inn, more and more people joined the riot to fight for their equality. The Stonewall riots inspired people throughout the country to organize in support of gay rights. Within two years after the riots, gay rights groups started their movements, which took place in nearly every major city in the United States such as Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC (The Leadership …show more content…
It clarifies the leak of New York existing laws and brings the question of recognition of same-sex marriage to higher legislature. It causes the bill on same-sex marriages later. In 2005, the case Hernandez v. Robles challenged New York refusal to issue the marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Plaintiffs argued the denial of some-sex marriages was the violation of the New York Constitution ("Hernandez v. Robles"). However, New York Domestic Relations Law doesn 't contain specific prohibition or allowance for same-sex marriages. Plaintiffs argued gay and lesbian couples have rights for equal treatment under the state 's marriage laws. Nevertheless, on July 6, 2006, the Court of Appeals, which is New York highest court, decided that New York Domestic Relations Law does not permit same-sex marriage and state constitutional does not recognize same-sex marriage (Hartocollis). However, New York courts had also recognized the relationship between individuals of the same-sex in other court cases, such as the case of Martinez v. County of Monroe in 2008 and the case of Godfrey v. Spano in 2009; since "the place for the expression of the public policy of New York is in the Legislature, not the courts", same-sex marriages are "entitled to recognition in New York in the absence of express legislation to the contrary" (Gulino