Yes, back in the l950’s, the police would raid a gay bar and take everyone they found to the police station. The next day the names and information on the gay guys therein were published in the newspaper. Of course, this was very embarrassing to most of the gays and many were fired from their job because of this. This took place before the famous Stonewall Gay Bar Raid in New York City. This was just the way things were back then!

Why!

I was told that the local Mafia owned the gay bars and would pay the police off so they could keep operating. So, as long as the gay guys were quiet and played along with everyone, they were safe. Still, nobody was really “safe”. Well, the way I understood it back then, the police only raided the gay bars when they were under pressure to do something. If there had been a rape or a sex crime, the police had to do something on balance, so they raided the gay bars and that made headlines in the newspapers the next day. The police had arrested those perverts! This seemed to either satisfy or at least pacify everyone--except the gay guys--but back then, gay people did not really count!

I was in the Army during this time and was stationed outside of St. Louis, Missouri. One summer evening I drove to the city and was walking to a downtown gay bar to have a beer, talk with the guys, and hopefully, I could meet a guy and make out with him. I have always felt that I have a special angel that sits on my shoulder and he keeps me out of trouble. My angel had always taken good care of me. I needed him that night!

As I walked toward my bar or choice, I noticed a group of police were near this downtown bar, so I did not enter. Soon other policemen pulled up with black vans and backed them up to the front door of the gay bar. Before the guys had a chance to flee, the police slipped into the bar, went to the very back of the bar, blew their whistles and told everyone they were under arrest. The police then shoved and pushed the gay guys through the front door and into the police vans. It took several vans to cart off all of the gay guys.

I stood outside, on the sidewalk, and just watched in amazement. If I had been there three minutes earlier--I would have been in one of those black vans and hauled off to the police station! This would have marked the end of my Army career! This was so blatantly unfair, but the gay guys had no choice. When the police had collected everyone that was in the bar, they hauled them off to the police station for booking. The guys had to go to court, of course. The police had the bartenders in court also and the bartenders were pressured to identify the gay guys. The bartenders always said they did not recognize any of the guys. The guys would be fined and eventually set free, but their names would be published. Once again the police had done their “duty” of cleaning up the city.
I was able to meet several gay guys that were arrested like that. Most lost their jobs and had a hard time finding a new one. This type of harassment took place all over the larger cities throughout the