At the time, showing same-sex affection or dressing in a way deemed gender-inappropriate could get people arrested, and bars had lost liquor licenses for serving such people. In 1969, the Stonewall was part of a Greenwich Village gay scene that was known, yet not open. The Stonewall Inn stands in part of its original space and serves as a gathering place and beacon for the LGBTQ community and others. 'We understand we're the innkeepers of history,' Lentz said. The fight for LGBTQ equality goes back much further than the Stonewall riots, notes author Eric Cervini who discusses his new book 'The Deviant's War: The Homosexual versus the United States of America.'