Change Since Stonewall

This Sunday, June 28, will be the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, an event that many consider the start of the modern gay rights movement in the United States. Raymond Castro, now 67, was at the Stonewall Inn, which was a popular gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, when the police raided it that night.

In an interview with NBC, Castro told of how he was arrested that first night. "I remember throwing punches and resisting arrest," he said. "The police handcuffed me and threw me in the paddy wagon. . . ." Castro spent the night in jail, but once released he never went back to the bar.

Castro said about the bar, "Stonewall . . . was one of the few places where you could be yourself. . . . In most other places, you could not show any signs of emotional expression."

But Castro believes that things have changed. He said, "I think people are more tolerant and understanding now. I personally don't come across any bigotry." But of course the big issue now is gay marriage. Castro has been with his partner for 30 years, and he believes they should have the same rights as married couples. But he's hopeful about the future.

"I don't think I'll see a federal law for gay marriage in my lifetime, but it will get there eventually," he said.