Well I'm glad you at least realized the practical/courtship side of the argument. That is a fairly major part of the deal.
"i don't feel the gay people in my community should feel the need to hide away in their own bars and sections of the city and not mix with others 'normal' people." - That would be wonderful, and in my own experience that has not been a problem. At least in the cities I've lived in, LGBT people don't limit themselves to the village.
But at the same time, people with things in common tend to cluster. It's not really that surprising. Almost every city in North America has a Chinatown and a Little Italy. As well as numerous other regions that are inhabited by a disproportionately large number of members of a specific ethnic minority. Obviously "gay" isn't an ethnicity, but it's not surprising that certain businesses and establishments would tend to pop up which cater specifically to gays. It's even less surprising that most of these establishments tend to be places that deal in something related to sex in some way or another. (Strip joints, night clubs and bars, primarily. I realize night clubs and bars deal mostly in alcohol, but lets not be naive, sex enters into it. If a gay guy isn't really looking for any, and really does just want a drink, he won't go to a gay bar.) And having them all clustered together isn't just convenient. It's safer. For a group that has faced discrimination and persecution, there is strength in numbers, and there is something to be said for having a place where you can go where you won't face stigma, scorn, discrimination, or in some sad, but undeniably real situations, actual violence. It would be nice if that were unnecessary, but I just don't think we're there yet. But yes, if the whole world were "safe" then we wouldn't need "safe spaces".