But the movement is still relatively young in the arc of American history and as Harvey Milk once said, “A reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of a building is widely covered. Events like Stonewall have entered the canon of GLBT history, while other, equally significant moments have lingered in the background. In this week’s magazine, TIME tells the story of the Upstairs Lounge Fire, which remains little known and even less understood despite the epic scale of the tragedy. And while all signs pointed to arson, the police investigation ran cold. The powerful Catholic Archbishop of New Orleans at the time, Phillip Hannan, did not offer his support or sympathy to victims.
Yet politicians and religious leaders were relatively silent. history until Sunday, when at least 50 people were shot and killed at an Orlando gay nightclub. It is believed to be the largest killing of gay people in U.S. In less than 20 minutes, 32 people were killed, dozens more critically injured and the ones who managed to escape watched helplessly as friends and lovers burned to death before their eyes. On June 24, 1973, a flash fire tore through a gay bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
