Editing Stonewall riots (section)

===Homophile activism===
{{main|Homophile movement}}
In response to this trend, two organizations formed independently of each other to advance the cause of gay men and lesbians and provide opportunities where they could socialize without fear of being arrested. Los Angeles area homosexuals created the [[Mattachine Society]] in 1950, in the home of communist activist [[Harry Hay]].{{sfn|Marcus|2002|pp=24–25}} Their objectives were to unify homosexuals, educate them, provide leadership, and assist "sexual deviants" with legal troubles.{{sfn|Adam|1987|pp=62–63}} Facing enormous opposition to their radical approach, in 1953 the Mattachine shifted their focus to assimilation and respectability. They reasoned that they would change more minds about homosexuality by proving that gay men and lesbians were normal people, no different from heterosexuals.{{sfn|Adam|1987|pp=63–64}}{{sfn|Marcus|2002|pp=42–43}} Soon after, several women in San Francisco met in their living rooms to form the [[Daughters of Bilitis]] (DOB) for lesbians.{{sfn|Marcus|2002|p=21}} Although the eight women who created the DOB initially came together to be able to have a safe place to dance, as the DOB grew they developed similar goals to the Mattachine and urged their members to assimilate into general society.{{sfn|Gallo|2006|pp=1–5, 11}}

One of the first challenges to [[political repression|government repression]] came in 1953. An organization named [[ONE, Inc.]] published a magazine called ''ONE''. The U.S. Postal Service refused to mail its August issue, which concerned homosexual people in heterosexual marriages, on the grounds that the material was obscene despite it being covered in brown paper wrapping. The case eventually [[One, Inc. v. Olesen|went to the Supreme Court]], which in 1958 ruled that ONE, Inc. could mail its materials through the Postal Service.{{sfn|Marcus|2002|pp=47–48}}

[[Homophile movement|Homophile]] organizations—as homosexual groups self-identified in this era—grew in number and spread to the East Coast. Gradually, members of these organizations grew bolder. [[Frank Kameny]] founded the Mattachine of Washington, D.C. He had been fired from the U.S. Army Map Service for being a homosexual and sued unsuccessfully to be reinstated. Kameny wrote that homosexuals were no different from heterosexuals, often aiming his efforts at [[mental health professional]]s, some of whom attended Mattachine and DOB meetings telling members they were abnormal.{{sfn|Marcus|2002|pp=80–88}}

In 1965, news on Cuban prison work camps for homosexuals inspired Mattachine New York and D.C. to organize protests at the United Nations and the [[White House]]. Similar demonstrations were then held also at other government buildings. The purpose was to protest the treatment of gay people in Cuba<ref name=DB>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/fidel-castros-horrific-record-on-gay-rights|title=Fidel Castro's Horrific Record on Gay Rights|date=November 27, 2016|journal=Daily Beast|last1=Kirchick|first1=James}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA8l8EYcnHsC&pg=PA76| title=Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement| author=Marc Stein| date=2012| publisher=Routledge| isbn=978-0415874106}}</ref> and U.S. employment discrimination. These pickets shocked many gay people and upset some of the leadership of Mattachine and the DOB.{{sfn|Marcus|2002|pp=105–108}}<ref name="Blade">DiGuglielmo, Joey (October 20, 2011). [http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/10/20/kameny-in-context/ "Steps to Stonewall"]. ''Washington Blade''. Retrieved November 5, 2012.</ref> At the same time, demonstrations in the civil rights movement and [[opposition to the Vietnam War]] all grew in prominence, frequency, and severity throughout the 1960s, as did their confrontations with police forces.{{sfn|Adam|1987|pp=72–73}}