In honor of this year’s Law Day theme, "Realizing the Dream: Equality for All," many topics are worthy of discussion. Yet, with two significant cases addressing same-sex marriage currently before the U.S. Supreme Court,1 the topic of gay rights deserves our attention. Indeed, New York has come a long way since that historic night in June 1969 when the Stonewall Inn, a bar frequented by the gay community, was raided by police. In response, the gay community and its supporters engaged in a large public outburst, leading to several days of violence known as the Stonewall riots.2
In almost half of a century since the Stonewall riots, public policy in New York has evolved. For example, in a landmark case decided in the late 1980s, New York recognized same-sex relationships.3 Since then, New York has made steady progress through the following developments in gay rights: (1) adoption, (2) laws enacted against discrimination, (3) recognition of same-sex civil unions, (4) legalization of same-sex marriage under the Marriage Equality Act and, most recently, (5) destigmatizing the term "gay" or "homosexual."
