dallas emerges as among most gay-friendly cities
Dallas has become one of the most gay-friendly cities in the US according to Time Magazine. It boasts the ninth-largest concentration of same-sex couples in the country and has a lesbian city sheriff, gay county judge, and gay district clerk. Dallas City Councilman Ed Oakley, who is openly gay, carried 40% of the vote in the election for Dallas mayor in June and thus had a chance of being the first gay mayor of a large US city.
The increasing gay friendliness reflects a rise of more liberal attitudes in Dallas. Gays have gentrified once-crumbling neighborhoods while the city’s booming cultural scene has been a magnet for many gay and lesbian professionals.
But some of the old, conservative Dallas remains. President Bush is expected to move there once he leaves the White House.