gay rights

Cultural

The movement for civil rights for homosexuals. It originated after a police raid on a gay bar in New York City in 1969, which triggered a riot and launched the grassroots reform movement seeking to end social and legal discrimination against gays. (See Stonewall Riot.)

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gay rights

An alcove devoted to gay rights displays an early version of the rainbow flag, campaign and protest buttons, and a ceiling fragment from the Stonewall Inn, where a 1969 uprising launched the gay liberation movement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025

He has appeased both sides of the gay rights conversation by presenting himself as neither a reformer nor a reactionary, de-emphasizing the issue overall.

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2025

In June, he ordered the Navy to rename one its ships, which bore the name of an assassinated gay rights activist and Navy veteran, Harvey Milk.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2025

On Friday, she posted a picture showing her standing with the liberal Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony in front of a rainbow flag symbolising gay rights.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025

Black rights, women's rights and gay rights came a long way.

From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023