What positive experiences have you a Gay/Lesbian person had in WI? (Milwaukee: renting)

[QwertyFarmer]

I moved back to WI last year and did so with the expectation of having to deal with obvious forms of discrimination or ill treatment towards my partner and I. While we had lived in WI before we had experienced some of this behavior. This time though we have been very welcomed into the local communities and are already very active in many ways socially for fun and as volunteers. It has been a very eye opening experience in so many ways.

I would like to know where and how other gay/lesbian people have been treated in positive ways by their neighbors, townies, farmers, and the like. If you have been surprised by how well you have been treated, like us, why?

By the way we live nowhere near Madison and the closest town has less than 400 people. Just as a frame of reference. Thank you in advance for your time.

[Milwaukee City]

We'll as a straight guy who lives in Milwaukee's some what gay district and two gay neighbor's I have never thought any less of them and I didn't know they were gay until they told me and it still doesn't bother me. They are the best neighbor's I have had in my 5 years of renting, they do yard work and clean up the neighborhood with me and we sit on our stoop and drink some beers and the topic never really comes up. My cousin who used to live in Washington Heights mentioned to me he had a gay neighbor and had reservations about moving next to a gay couple but after 2 years he'd prefer to live have gay neighbor's. He had nothing but nice things to say about them. Personally if your gay today I don't think you have a thing to worry about. I rarely hear gay jokes and I have friends that live next to or work with gays and I never heard them say anything bad about them. Maybe it's the big city of a more accepting environment b/c you just have so many goof balls that it b/c normal to have someone who is different. It might be different in rural small town WI which is my guess, but then again look at all the TV shows that feature or promote the gay lifestyle. As a christian conservative right winger I don't agree with the gay lifestyle or movement but who cares what I think it's just my opinion and I'm not going to stand on a corner and protest it, I'd rather sit back and enjoy a nice glass of wine or a glass of ice cold polski piwo. Life is too short to get all worked up. I say if you're nice to people it usually doesn't matter what you do in your spare time.

[Nique]

I'm not gay, but my best friend, co-worker, and boss all are. I've never heard any of them speak of a single incidence of trouble because of it here.

Of course, we do live in downtown Madison.

My best friend and her wife had a really good experience planning a wedding in town - found a great church to do the ceremony, had a lovely reception, everything went smoothly. We didn't even have any problems when I threw them a bachelorette party, and I expected that if there was going to be any trouble, it'd be when I had them handcuffed together and bar hopping.

But, again, I can't speak to personal accounts or anything outside of Madison.