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.)

Example Sentences

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gay rights

A devout Christian, she also became a supporter of gay rights.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

Reiner campaigned for early childhood education and health care, as well as gay rights.

From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025

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

Black power groups like the Black Panthers -- and later gay rights groups like the Pink Panthers, too.

From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

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