Vancouver games features first “Pride House,” Patti’s first gay “Millionaire Matchmaker” client of the season, a new gay networking site, plus issues of more repute are among Wednesday’s gay headlines. • “Pride House” debuts at Winter Olympics in Vancouver. This is the first time a lounge—set in a boutique hotel—for gay athletes and spectators has been part of the Olympic Village (photo). • 60 U.S. House reps demand gay couples immigration reform. Gay Congress members Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank and Jared Polis lead the charge to allow partners from other countries. • Poll: Almost two-thirds of American voters say openly gay service members ...

Well, here's a preview from the Washington Post of what we can expect today at the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' hearings: "President Obama's top defense officials will tell the Senate on Tuesday that the military will no longer aggressively pursue disciplinary action against gay service members whose orientation is revealed against their will by third parties, sources say. ...But Gates and Mullen are also expected to tell senators that it could take years to integrate gay men and lesbians fully into the military, defense officials said. Two appointees will be named to oversee a group that will draw ...

Some notes on the eve of the Pentagon's "major announcement" and initiation of hearings to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': The AP reports that fewer troops were discharged under the failed policy last year: "The Defense Department last year dismissed the fewest number of service members for violating its 'don't ask, don't tell policy' than it had in more than a decade. The 2009 figure, a sharp decline from the previous year, comes from President Barack Obama's first year in office...The lower number continues a trend since 2001 in which fewer troops have been dismissed as the ...

Say what? A new AP article on the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal suggests it won't be complete until at least 2012: "The Defense Department starts the clock next week on what is expected to be a several-year process in lifting its ban on gays from serving openly in the military.A special investigation into how the ban can be repealed without hurting the morale or readiness of the troops was expected to be announced Tuesday by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. While the review is likely to take the ...

Vernon Jones and his lackluster record on LGBT issues is back, and the mercurial former DeKalb County CEO wants to unseat one of Georgia’s most gay-friendly members of Congress. Hank Johnson (top photo), who won the Fourth Congressional District seat in 2006, has become a leading progressive voice in the House, second only to U.S. Rep. John Lewis in supporting LGBT issues. Johnson scored a 95 on the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent Congressional scorecard, taking the second-highest score in Georgia. Only Lewis scored higher in notching a perfect 100. Johnson is a co-sponsor of a trans-inclusive employment non-discrimination bill pending ...

Vernon Jones and his lackluster record on LGBT issues is back and the mercurial former DeKalb County CEO wants to unseat one of Georgia’s most gay-friendly members of Congress. Hank Johnson (top photo), who won the Fourth Congressional District seat in 2006, has become a leading progressive voice in the House and second only to U.S. Rep. John Lewis in supporting LGBT issues. Johnson scored a 95 on the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent Congressional scorecard, taking the second-highest score in Georgia. Only Lewis scored higher in notching a perfect 100. Johnson is a co-sponsor of a trans-inclusive employment non-discrimination bill ...

ENDA—the Employment Non-Discrimination Act—is finally likely to pass this year, but one of the country’s most explicit forms of employment discrimination—the military’s “don’t ask don’t tell” (DADT) ban on out gay service members—probably won’t be considered because military leaders appear to be more likely to recommend that Congress delay consideration of a DADT repeal measure, according to an exclusive report by Associated Press national security writer Anne Gearan. The current session of Congress appears to offer the best opportunity to pass ENDA, which has been introduced in various forms for 15 years, Rea Carey, executive director of the ...

Who doesn’t like a good holiday ho this time of year? Pets Are Loving Support knows that and on Wednesday offers “Ho Ho Ho Down Holiday Bingo” for its monthly fundraiser. The group is coming off of successful events in November and October. On Nov. 11, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Bingo attracted a handful of military-themed participants and an appearance by Danny Ingram (top photo), a gay veteran. Ingram, a former Army sergeant who was among the first to be discharged in 1994 under the miltary’s ban on gay service members, was elected president of American Veterans For Equal Rights ...

Prop 8 proponents to get to keep internal campaign documents private? Nude Brangelina immortalized. Witness immunity sought for gay service members at "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hearings. Alcee Hastings: "How can there be anything more important than a gay member of the service having the right to testify before the Armed Services Committee of the Congress that he is under the aegis of. But if they come and testify, that testimony could be used against them under 'don't ask, don't tell.' In my judgment, it's just a question of fairness."On the New Jersey marriage vote: ...

    ::: US Army Private Bethany Smith, 21, (aka Skyler James) will have another chance to argue her case for getting asylum in Canada because of a key court victory Friday, Canada.com reports. A judge ordered Canada’s refugee board to reconsider her failed asylum claim, taking into account, this time, what the judge said is “compelling evidence” that she was persecuted by fellow soldiers and that her sexual orientation could mean stiffer punishment for going AWOL. Federal Court Justice Yves de Montigny concluded that Smith's sexual orientation puts her in a more sympathetic category. “She could be punished ...

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Penn.) graces the cover the next issue of The Advocate, online now and hitting news stands Oct. 20. From a press release: Intrepid reporter Michael Joseph Gross talks to fierce advocate Rep. Patrick Murphy about why he feels it necessary to fight for the repeal of the military’s ban on gay service members. Gross [...] ...

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) stands firmly against “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” on the November cover of The Advocate. In 'Straight Guys Tell', intrepid reporter Michael Joseph Gross talks to Murphy about why he feels it necessary to fight for the repeal of the military’s ban on gay service members. Gross also visits the Ft. Lewis military base in Washington State and talks to straight military men about what it is like for them to serve alongside their gay and lesbian counterparts. A couple of quotes from the article: “I saw great officers, great leaders, who had to resign their commission ...