1977 Houston Anita Bryant protests

In response to Bryant's outspoken anti-gay views and her Save Our Children campaign, thousands of members of the Houston LGBT community and their supporters marched through the city to the venue in protest on June 16, 1977.

Designers created logos and fliers, Fred Paez and Ray Hill negotiated with the Houston Police Department for a non-confrontational and orderly event.

The Hyatt Hotel in downtown Houston was chosen for the Texas State Bar Association's meeting on June 16, 1977.

[4] at 8:00 pm, about 3,000 protesters, consisting of members of the LGBT community and their allies, gathered in the Depository Bar parking lot in Montrose at the corners of Bagby and McGowen Streets.

There, then-publisher of The Advocate David B. Goodstein, actress Liz Torres, and founder of the Metropolitan Community Church Reverend Troy Perry addressed the crowd.

[2] Former GPC president Larry Bagneris called the demonstration "the first major political act that we, as gay people, took on in Houston.

"[2] A minister at Houston's Gay Pride Parade in 1978 said, "It took Anita Bryant to bring this many of our brothers and sisters out of their closets.

In 1978, an event called Town Meeting I was held, during which Houston gays and lesbians met to discuss political and social issues they faced.

By 1980, the community had gained an unprecedented amount of recognition, and gay ally Kathy Whitmire won the race for City Controller on a GPC endorsement.