In 1996, before the first shoe was thrown at Stonewall, members of Mattachine linked New York’s laws that punished bars for serving drinks to LGBTQ patrons with threats to freedom of assembly, and organized a “sip-in” to call attention to the injustice. But while those laws and attacks focused largely on private space or individuals, the targeting of social and public space seemed particularly designed to take the power out of the movement.įaced with losing some of its only gathering and organizing spaces, the LGBTQ community fought back. Of course, there were other violent laws and actions that targeted LGBTQ folks, from anti-sodomy laws (still on the books in 49 states at the time of the Stonewall uprising) to assaults by police and vigilante groups. When it came to booze, the laws were just as frank and just as discriminatory: bars could lose their licenses for selling alcohol to gay people.
![after hours gay bar nyc after hours gay bar nyc](http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200218110524-nyc-oldest-bars-old-towne-wide.jpg)
Even when dancing was allowed, there were strict dress codes for men and women gay men could be arrested if found with less than three items of “gender-appropriate” clothing. Of course, cabaret licenses were extremely difficult to come by, making the law an easy cover for police who wanted to bust jazz clubs in Harlem, Latinx bars, or LGBTQ bars around the city.
![after hours gay bar nyc after hours gay bar nyc](https://fastly.4sqi.net/img/general/600x600/XKFEOXXMRJIL3GYAVREUUB35DX2MQ5OC1EVCRXSOL1K32HRA.jpg)
From 1926-1917, New York enforced the Cabaret Law, a draconian rule banned more than three people from dancing in any establishment that didn’t have a cabaret license.
![after hours gay bar nyc after hours gay bar nyc](https://www.advocate.com/sites/default/files/2016/06/27/nyc-lost-bars-x968.jpg)
At the same time, LGBTQ public space has always been contested, threatened by landlords, neighbors, police and government officials who recognized-if subconsciously-the political power of the street, the bar, and the park.