It does seem like you are strongly implying that "homosexual hangouts" are less respectable places than heterosexual hangouts.
By and large, yes. I certainly hope that point was clear enough.
When I said, "except perhaps closing them [gay bars] down," I was in no way endorsing such a step. I was instead describing the range of reasonable attitudes a politician might have to a gay bar. While I wouldn't support any effort to close gay clubs, it would at least be understandable. Sending your daughter into one to campaign for you? Not so much.
I agree to some extent about our knowledge of politicians' private lives. If Abe Lincoln had a flair for interior decoration, he at least had the decency to respect others' moral disapproval. In today's environment, he would have had a coming out press conference in the Rose Garden, then insisted that we all "accept him for who he is."