President Obama plans to name New York City inn as national 'gay rights' monument

People pose for photos in front of the Stonewall Inn before the start of Pride Week activities in the Manhattan borough of New York on June 27, 2014. Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama is moving to name an inn in New York City as a national monument to "gay rights" ahead of the Gay Pride Month in June.

Obama will designate the Stonewall Inn as a national monument, the first act of its kind by an American president, the Christian News Network reports.

Gay advocates say raids at the inn served to spark the gay rights movement in the U.S.

In 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided by the police due to homosexual activities at the club that resulted in six days of rioting by homosexuals.

In his 2013 inaugural address, Obama said, "We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall."

New York City designated Stonewall Inn as a city landmark last year. Later, Democrats New York Rep. Jerrod Nadler and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand proposed that the area be made into a national park.

"We must have federal recognition of the LGBT movement's history and origins and ensure that this piece of LGBT history is preserved for future generations," said Nadler.

Sen. Chuck Schumer said, "Making the Stonewall Inn site a unit of the National Park system is the right thing to do."

The proposal is to make Christopher Park, located across the street from the Stonewall Inn, a national park.

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis and Nadler will hold a listening session on May 9 to get feedbacks about the proposal, according to the Washington Post.

Obama may designate the area as part of the National Park Service next month in time for the Gay Pride celebration.

Last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a measure, supported by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and several state lawmakers, that would allow the city to transfer the ownership of Christopher Park to the federal government if it is designated as a national monument.

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