Phillip Smith
On November 3, 1991, Phillip W. Smith, a 24 year old gay man, was gunned down outside of a gay nightclub in Montrose called Heaven. Smith’s murderer was named Johnny Bryant Darrington III, who was charged with aggravated robbery. He shot Smith in the eye because he claimed that as a child he was raped by a homosexual, and when Smith smiled at Darrington, it reminded him of this traumatic event. After the shooting, Smith died a few hours later in the hospital. [9] Only a few months before this, on July 4, 1991, a man named Paul Broussard died from a gay-bashing, which put pressure on the Houston Police Department to officially label this murder as the first hate-crime homicide. [2] As a response to Smith’s death, three days after he died, over 24 Queer Nation Houston members met at "Charlie’s Coffee House" to discuss the ways in which they can make communities more aware of the problems regarding hate crimes. This led to the creation of Q-Patrol, a group of individuals who worked to protect the queer community. Following this meeting, the same members protested that night. [9]