In 1870, Gaines played a strategic role in passing the Militia Bill, which created a state police force to combat lawlessness and to protect against voter intimidation. Even though his actions were sincere, Senator Gaines was generally a threat to the Democrats and even some Republicans found him troublesome. Gaines was elected to a six-year term to the Senate, but he only served four years. Denounced on the Senate floor by a Democratic opponent as a "flat-footer [sic] nigger" and threatened with death outside the legislature by racist whites, Gaines was indicted in 1871 on a charge of bigamy, causing his seat to be challenged. He was removed from office despite the fact that the charge was overturned. In 1875, he was arrested for making a civil rights speech in Giddings. He told his audience that "in the eyes of God, blacks are as good as whites; they should have pride and hold their heads up even in troubled times." Gaines continued to be active in politics and made his political views known in conventions, public gatherings, and from his pulpit.