Report: Obama to designate first national monument to gay rights

President Obama is prepared to designate a small area in Manhattan's Greenwich Village the first national monument recognizing the gay rights movement, The Washington Post reports.

The area surrounds the Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 Stonewall Riots that launched the gay rights movement. On May 9, several federal officials, including the director of the National Park Service and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, will hold a listening session for feedback on the proposal. "We must ensure that we never forget the legacy of Stonewall, the history of discrimination against the LGBT community, or the impassioned individuals who have fought to overcome it," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the co-author of legislation that would make the area a national park, said in a statement. "The LGBT civil rights movement launched at Stonewall is woven into American history, and it is time our National Park system reflected that reality."

The site involves private property and less than two-tenths of an acre of green space, and city officials are investigating the history of the land title, the Post reports. Obama could designate the area part of the National Park Service as early as next month.

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