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person. Generally just being present was enough in their minds to warrant an arrest. Of course when this appeared in the newspaper they were tabbed as having committed a "Crime against nature." Many lives were ruined in this manner.

By 1969 gay life in NYC had improved somewhat as the police began laying off the LGBT community establishments and set in house rules in place concerning the entrapment of gay men. However mayoral candidate John Lindsay was fighting a losing re-election battle and took a gamble that a campaign based on morals would get him back over the top. He reasoned the Stonewall was a prime target to focus on as it was frequented by a crowd made up primarily of blacks and Hispanics, many of whom were transgendered or drag queens which would appease the straight white male voter base he was courting. Furthermore police deputy inspector Seymour Pine felt that a number of thefts on Wall Street were directly linked to gay men who frequented the nearby Stonewall Inn. His reasoning for this was thin as best as he assumed the thefts were gay men trying to pay off blackmailers to protect their secret. That was the extent of his investigation and speculative powers. Satisfied with this scenario, Lindsay gave the go ahead to take down the Stonewall.

The raid itself was on June twenty eighth of 1969 at 1:20 A.M. This raid was unlike others that the Stonewall or most any bar had faced before in that the police carried a warrant to investigate underage alcohol sales and not the usual morals clause violations concerning homosexuals. Eight officers arrived unlike the normal two, and of those only one was uniformed. Each patron was identified, mostly logged in the police officers notebooks, and questioned before being led outside or arrested. For the most part white male patrons were simply released without so much as having their name logged. Those arrested were the staff along with three drag queens and two male to female transsexuals. Onlookers began making catcalls aimed at the police. As the arrested parties were led to the paddy wagon they began getting violent. Many believe the first action taken against the police was carried out by a transgender person although nobody can seem to exactly remember.

Officers were pelted with bottles, coins, and rocks, but what really sent things over the edge was when singer Dave van Ronk, a heterosexual that just happened to be passing by was dragged off the street and into the Stonewall where NYPD officers savagely

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