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Obama designates monument to gay rights

WASHINGTON — President Obama is designating the Stonewall Inn — the New York tavern where a 1969 police raid inspired the modern gay rights movement — as the first national monument dedicated "to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights."

<p>In this June 16, 2016 file photo, a man lights candles on a memorial outside the Stonewall Inn. (Photo: Julie Jacobson, AP)</p>

WASHINGTON — President Obama is designating the Stonewall Inn — the New York tavern where a 1969 police raid inspired the modern gay rights movement — as the first national monument dedicated "to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights."

The nation's national parks "should reflect the full story of our country," Obama said in a video Friday announcing the dedication. "Out of many, we are one."

Patrons of the Stonewall, located in Greenwich Village, rioted after a police raid on June 28, 1969, an uprising that led to a protest movement fighting discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

The Stonewall National Monument will encompass 7.7 acres in southern Manhattan, including the bar as well as Christopher Park across the street.

Last year, New York declared Stonewall as a city landmark.

Under Obama. other LGBT sites have been designated as a National Historic Landmark or listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Stonewall is the first gay rights site to be designated as a national monument, a part of the National Park Service.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the Stonewall designation is especially appropriate in light of this month's terrorist attack on a gay night club in Orlando. Griffin said he hopes the new monument "will be a source of inspiration to a new generation of Americans across the country standing up for equality and uniting to show the world that love conquers hate."

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