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. ![]() 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. 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. 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.
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