‘Cruel and Petty’ Edits Made to New York National Monument Site

On Friday, February 14th, Vice President JD Vance spoke to world leaders at the Munich Security Conference, spending most of his time talking about the war on free speech around the world.

"In Britain, and across Europe, free speech I fear is in retreat," Vance stated.

Vance's proclamations fell to crickets from European leaders sitting in the room.

It's an ironic stance for the current administration to present on a global stage with it being on the heels of a slew of Executive Orders pointedly aimed at effectively silencing different groups of American citizens, namely those in the LGBTQ+ community.

The latest change made to a National Parks Service webpage is evidence of such.

Significant Change Made to National Parks Service Webpage for New York Monument

On Thursday, February 13, many began to notice edits being made to a National Parks Service webpage for New York's Stonewall National Monument.

New York City's Stonewall Inn was the first LGBTQ+ site to be honored as a National Historic Landmark back in 2000. In June of 1969, the little bar on Christopher Street became a symbol of resistance, community, and hope for the LGBTQ+ community.

On June 28th of that year, a routine police raid turned into a major stand against anti-LGBT practices like the "State Liquor Authority policy that prohibited gay people from being served alcoholic beverages" according to NYCLGBT Sites.

What started as a group of 500 members of the LGBTQ+ community rioting against homophobia and systemic injustice grew to nearly 2,000 people by the second night.

The Stonewall Inn and Stonewall National Monument have always stood to honor the work that all members of the LGBTQ+ community have shouldered in the name of creating a more inclusive and just society for everyone.

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Now, the Trump administration is taking steps to erase the transgender and gender-nonconforming community from anything that the federal government has its hand in - including the Stonewall National Monument's site.

Edits to the National Parks Service Page Erase Portions of History

As of Thursday, February 13, the Stonewall Monument webpage on the National Parks Service website now reads, "Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969 is a milestone in the quest for LGB civil rights and provided momentum for a movement."

The edits completely delete any mention of transgender and gender-nonconforming people, even removing the "TQ" from LGBTQ+. These changes effectively make the page historically inaccurate as members of the trans and gender-nonconforming community played major roles in the Stonewall riots. This change entirely erases the efforts of trans and queer activists like trailblazer Marsha P. Johnson.

"Stonewall is transgender history," writes the non-profit Stonewall Inn Gives Back on Instagram.

The post continued to write,

"This blatant act of erasure not only distorts the truth of our history, but it also dishonors the immense contributions of transgender individuals - especially transgender women of color - who were at the forefront of the Stonewall riots."

The Trump administration has already made a number of moves in attempts to erase, silence, and disgrace the transgender community's existence in America.

Some food for thought to offer on behalf of myself: Leave trans people alone. Offering basic respect is pretty simple. In fact, it's even easier than conjuring hyperbolic narratives to conveniently fit an argument purely based on one’s ignorance.

There are a million and one real issues to handle. Creating edicts to erase entire bodies of people is not only incredibly contradictory to the almighty free speech principle this administration claims to stand for, but it's a horrific and petty way to waste time. Just let trans joy flourish.