More than 300 people with LGBTQ+ flags rallied at the Stonewall National Monument on Friday, February 14, a day after references to trans Americans disappeared from the Stonewall National Monument website.
The National Park Service, which manages America’s national parks and most of the country’s national monuments, removed the “T” from the “LGBTQ+”, as well as any references to trans people, from the official Stonewall National Monument website.
Stonewall National Monument, which was designated a national monument by President Barack Obama in 2016, is a 7.7-acre national monument in the West Village neighbourhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The designated area includes the Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and nearby streets including Christopher Street, the site of the Stonewall riots of June 28, 1969, widely regarded as the start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States.
This move follows President Donald Trump‘s continued attack on trans communities. On his inauguration, Trump declared that there are only two genders: male or female. He has subsequently given orders to ban trans people from sports and the US military.
Advocates saw the symbolic measure of removing the word “transgender” from the park service website as part of an attempt to erase a class of people.
“This is literally coming into our house and trying to erase trans people,” said Stacy Lentz, co-owner of the Stonewall Inn.
In 2016, former President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall National Monument to protect the area around the bar, including Christopher Park, where historic photos have been hung. A visitor centre opened in 2024.
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