1. Salt Lake City - GAYEST CITY?!?
SALT LAKE TOPS ADVOCATE’S QUIRKY ‘GAYEST CITIES’ LIST | The Advocate has published a list of the “gayest cities in America,” but it reaches interesting results by using some very odd criteria. In addition to having LGBT elected officials and transgender non-discrimination protections, cities got points for having WNBA teams, nude yoga classes, and concerts by Gossip, the Cliks, and the Veronicas. As a result, Salt Lake City ranked the highest, followed by Orlando, Cambridge, Fort Lauderdale, and Seattle. Check out the full results for more details on the criteria and LGBT culture in the ranked cities.
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3. Cambridge, Mass.
The home of Harvard University likes a smarty-pants, including the nation’s first African-American lesbian mayor, E. Denise Simmons. Though her reign ended in 2009, she is currently in her sixth term on the City Council, which enacted antidiscrimination protections for transgender people in 1997. The town’s Paradise bar (ParadiseCambridge.com) is billed as New England’s only gay club with hot male dancers six nights a week — hey, everyone needs a night off — and the town is right next to a little hamlet named Boston, where allegedly LGBT stuff sometimes happens too.
2. Orlando, Fla.
Besides hosting Gay Days at Disney World, where 50,000 LGBT folks and their kids dressed in red T-shirts invade the theme park the first Saturday in June (and spend $100 million in town), Orlando has more gay softball teams than you can shake a Louisville Slugger at. And residents just got domestic-partnership protections. For non-Mickeyphiles, there’s oodles of homo content each year at the annual Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival (OrlandoFringe.org).
1. Salt Lake City
While those unfamiliar with the Beehive State are likely to conjure images of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to-be Salt Lake City has earned its queer cred. There are more than a half-dozen hot spots for men and women, including the eco-friendly nightclub Jam (JamSLC.com), though the sustainable bamboo flooring is perhaps less of a draw than the packed dance floor. The Coffee Garden (878 South 900 East) is a gathering spot for those looking for a caffeine fix, the Sundance Film Festival brings LGBT film buffs to screenings downtown, and lesbian-owned Meditrina (MeditrinaSLC.com) is a true wine bar — yes, you can get a drink in this town.
MORE: http://news.advocate.com/post/15571734525/gayest-cities-in-america-2012
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But people would be surprised at just how 'gay friendly' it really is.
It's got a large gay population - specifically for a city its size - and has recently passed a sweeping nondiscrimination law that banned discrimination against gays in housing and employment.
Back in '09, Salt Lake City elected its first openly gay council member. Recently, three openly gay state legislators have been elected to represent the city.
The Utah Gay Pride Parade, held every summer in downtown Salt Lake City, which is part of the Pride Festival, is the 2nd largest parade in the state - right behind the Days of 47 (celebrating the Mormon's founding of Utah). Last year, it attracted 30,000 people, with Roseanne Barr as the Grand Marshall.
Definitely not the gayest city, but I'm willing to bet it gives a great deal of bigger cities a run for their money.
