Well, in my city, the conservatism goes into social issues as well, and yes there is a contingent here that wo love to take us back to the 1950s and pretend LBGTQ people wouldn't exist if we didn't allow them to be open about it. Seriously. They don't always get their way, but they are very vocal, and it takes a very concerted effort to make any kind of progressive change here. Sure, every city is different but it would be very naive to believe everyone in MA is socially progressive.