STONEWALL VET RAYMOND CASTRO DIES

FROM HIS OBIT IN THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES:

While he celebrated gains made by gay and lesbian activists, Mr. Castro sometimes wondered if people who were born after Stonewall could appreciate what happened there.

"A lot of people, especially the young ones, have no inkling of what Stonewall is," he told a newspaper in June. "They think Gay Pride is just a big party.

His death comes as several gay rights issues are in the national spotlight. While legal arguments over gay marriage and gays in the military are winding through the courts, the recent suicides of four teen boys have made those issues chillingly personal.

Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh, Billy Lucas and Asher Brown all had identified themselves as gay or bisexual. All died by suicide after allegations of bullying or cyberbullying by peers.

Forty-one years after Stonewall, their deaths remind gay rights supporters not to declare victory just yet.

"Since Stonewall, we've made amazing progress in establishing that homosexuals are human beings and as citizens they deserve rights," said Katz. "But it's clear that we still have very far to go and that there are still some elements in this society that don't think of homosexuals as human beings. Therefore they can harass them to death, literally."

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