Interior to release study of LGBTQ history

The Department of Interior will release the first report in its history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer history on Tuesday, the culmination of a two-year study. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis and Tim Gill, a philanthropist and founder of the Gill Foundation, will release the findings of the study Tuesday morning. "The study is the first of its kind conducted by any national government and identifies places and events associated with the civil rights struggle of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified Americans," the agency said Friday. "The study is part of a broader initiative under the Obama administration to ensure that the National Park Service reflects and tells a more complete story of the people and events responsible for building of this nation. The release coincides with National Coming Out Day and National LGBT History Month." Stay abreast of the latest developments from nation's capital and beyond with curated News Alerts from the Washington Examiner news desk and delivered to your inbox. The administration began studying LGBTQ history in May 2014 as an effort to include more places of significance to the community. The aim of the National Park Service's study was to tell "a more complete story" of the nation's minority communities. The study included talking with scholars, preservationists and community members to find and tell the stories of important sites, according to the park service. The park service also searched for stories within the national parks to find possible connections to LGBTQ history. Since 2014, the park service has been identifying and naming possible sites for historic landmarks and increasing the number of LGBTQ-associated places in the National Register of Historic Places. "The contributions of women, minorities and members of the LGBT community have been historically underrepresented in the National Park Service, and the LGBT theme study will help ensure that we understand, commemorate and share these key chapters in our nation's complex and diverse history," Jewell said in 2014 when announcing the study. Earlier this year, President Obama designated the Stonewall Inn, a famous New York City building where a riot began that the park service sees as the start of the modern LGBTQ movement, as a national monument. It's one of four places in the National Register of Historic Places associated with LGBTQ history...more