Just 6 years ago they (we) were banned from marrying. And that was fixed by scotus, not democracy because plenty of people were more than happy with that situation.

The numbers in this study aren't about recent grads either; the top-level figures include people that got their degrees decades ago, so it's like a survival-weighted integral over time.

Meanwhile, gay-bashing is still quite popular in rural areas. Are gay men overrepresented in places that aren't overtly dangerous to them?

It wouldn't surprise me if that's part of it. Imagine growing up in a conservative rural working class family. For straight people, staying there and living a working class life could easily happen by default. But for a homosexual the educated city life seems more attractive.

Still is in rural America, which is a little less than half the population.