While the majority of North Carolina is conservative, Chapel Hill is an oasis of liberalism. Although legend says that the town became liberal when a Union general married former UNC President Swain’s daughter, Chapel Hill’s liberal politics may have something to do with the large number of state employees and university personnel living in the city. It is not uncommon to see a protest in Chapel Hill and/or on the University’s campus for various liberal causes. The traditional locus of this is the Post Office on Franklin Street. Most protests in Chapel Hill are peaceful and pose no threat to visitors that do not want to participate in them. Chapel Hill is also highly gay-friendly; it is one of the few places in North Carolina where a gay couple can register to get legal benefits from the city. Chapel Hill government has an adversarial relationship with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The Chapel Hill/Carrboro area is somewhat '''bike-friendly'''. Some roads have bike lanes or wide shoulders, and there are also several bike-only paths, however, these tend to be short and do not tend to serve as transportation routes, but rather as exercise areas. http://wikitravel.org/en/Chapel Hill