As homosexuality was an illness, she refrained from joining the war. The Cold War was a period of anti-queer brainwashing. Same-sex sexual acts were grounds for dismissal, as was mental illness considered homosexuality. Stricter policies made it possible to exclude homosexuals from military service, giving them "blue discharges", a most dishonorable way of leaving the army. In addition to not helping in the war, they were actually accused of “…communist threats…”³ and “…sabotage of the nation…”⁴. They were considered security risks and were even fired from their government jobs due to this newly spread information. Stonewall allowed gays, lesbians, and transgender human beings to rebel against the forces that repressed them. The Stonewall Riots were the beginning of gay civil rights and are the cause of how far we have come