A New Era: Post-Bar-Raids Houston and United States LGBT Scene

On February 14th, 1982, Houston gay activist Ray Hill was arrested for shouting at police officers to divert their attention away from his friend Charles Hill, whom the police were talking to after he intentionally stopped traffic.  Ray Hill initially provoked the officers by shouting, “Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size?”  The officer asked if Hill was interrupting him in his dutiful capacity as a Houston police officer, which Hill confirmed with more shouting.  Hill was arrested for “willfully or intentionally interrupting a city policeman by verbal challenge during an investigation.”  After Hill was acquitted in Municipal Court, he decided to take his case to the United States Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the city ordinance he was arrested for. Hill won the case at the Court of Appeals, the ruling stating that the ordinance violated protected speech. This marked a significant victory for the gay community, reducing the factor that intimidation played into the community’s interactions with Houston police. [23]

In the era following the brunt of these bar raids, the atmosphere would begin to change for members of the gay community, both in Houston and across America. Strides would be made in the political and judicial realm as gay and trans rights came to the forefront of discussion. Popular support of these groups would begin to grow as the gay community would become more visible and more vocal. It's not to say that this new era would be devoid of hardship for the gay community, but they would begin to realize that it was imperative to never settle, to keep up the fight for their rights and have hope for the future.