turn it up TURN ME ON posted:

But where Portland does excel is in LBGTQ relations, which is focused on right now. I'd contest this is because of the concept of coming out of the closet. LBGTQ people were always in our families and friend groups (even for religious and conservative people), they just hid. Now that they're not hiding, everyone is realizing they were always part of the community. Some places, like the South, where religion holds sway, are fighting back against this and trying to explain it away as mental illness. For the most part, Portland seems to not be influenced heavily by religious institutions and is instead accepting those people (although trans folks not as much as LGBT folks).