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WATCH: Stonewall Clip Explores the Old 'Three-Item Rule'

WATCH: Stonewall Clip Explores the Old 'Three-Item Rule'

3 Item Rule

A new Stonewall clip shows just how those old "three-article rules" were enforced on LGBT people.

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In anticipation for the upcoming theatrical premiere of the full-length Stonewall film, a new clip from the movie has been released that showcases what some LGBT people in generations past had to go through at the hands of law enforcement and the archaic "three-item rules" many cities had that criminalized cross-dressing.

In the clip, we see Cong (played by Vladmir Alexis) confront a police officer during a raid on the historic Stonewall Inn, saying she's only wearing only one item of women's clothing, a dress she made herself. Despite this, Cong, and other Stonewall patrons, are still viciously harassed by the cops.

In the '50s and '60s, New York and other major cities enacted "three-item rules" that targeted queer people -- namely lesbians -- who publically wore less than three articles of clothing that didn't match their assigned genders.

Watch the exclusive clip below. Stonewall hits theaters this Friday, September 25.

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Alan Cumming and Jake Shears

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