06-02-2014, 10:18 PM
It's a mixed bag around where I live. In particular, I live pretty close to a rural area (though it's still considered urban statistically) and so I doubt "coming out" here is easy (though it is a Democratic-leaning area and I will admit to saying that I haven't found as many "interracial" couples anywhere in my life as I have here so I have no idea). The Houston area as a whole is pretty politically divided but I think it's safe to say that more Republican-leaning areas would be more openly homophobic. This is still Texas so you will find hate crimes, even murders, happen here like in other parts of the country - to those individuals, it was definitely a more dangerous environment!