References to transgender people on the National Park Service’s webpage for the Stonewall National Monument were removed Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to have federal agencies only recognize two genders. Per The New York Times, a previous iteration of the monument’s main page reportedly read: “Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) person was illegal.” The main page now only lists “lesbian, gay, bisexual person” and uses the acronym LGB instead. “It is outrageous, Erik Bottcher, a city councilman who represents Greenwich Village (where the monument is located), told The Times. “This is the latest attempt to erase the very existence of transgender people.” He continued, “The rebellion at Stonewall would not have happened without trans people. To attempt to erase their existence is utterly shameful.” The monument honors the 1969 Stonewall riots where thousands protested against a police raid of what is now New York City’s most famous gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. The riots served as a pivotal point in the gay rights movement, and the monument was the first U.S. national monument to honor LGBTQ history.
