Magazine ranks Iowa City third gayest town

Residents of Iowa City are living in the third gayest town in the country, according to an article in a national magazine.

“America's gayest 15 bergs” rankings were researched and compiled by The Advocate, the nation's oldest magazine that caters to the gay, lesbian and transgender community. Only top ranked Atlanta and Burlington, Vt. finished with higher scores.

Of the criteria that the reporter used to quantify how gay a city was, Iowa City scored lower than others on the list of 15 in terms of the amount of same-sex couples per capita, but it scored high with its openly gay elected officials and its ratio of gay bars per capita. The state's supreme court same-sex marriage ruling from April of last year also made Iowa City leap to the front of the pack.

The magazine pointed out that the city's “thriving arts community,” as well as the presence of the Iowa Writers Workshop, made it an eminent place to be gay.

Brett Thomas, 37, of North Liberty, owns and runs Studio 13, Iowa City's lone openly gay nightclub. He was proud to see Iowa City reach the top of the list, but said he isn't very surprised.

“Iowa is a pioneer with gay rights at least in the Midwest,” said Thomas. “People are free thinking and liberal in Iowa City ... and there's a common sense to Iowans too, a live and let live attitude.”

Iowa City beat out other Midwest cities including number four Bloomington, Ind. and number five Madison, Wis.

To read the article, go to:

http://advocate.com/Print_Issue/Travel/Gayest_Cities_in_America/