GLEH Housing for Gay and Lesbian Seniors

CHICAGO -- When federal officials studied housing discrimination based on race, the setup was simple: They sent in testers of different backgrounds and gauged how landlords and real estate agents treated people of color compared with whites. As the government prepares a first-ever study of housing discrimination against gays, however, the issue is more complex. How do you design a study to make an applicant's sexual orientation or gender identity as obvious as race and color?

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced an award totaling $900,000 over three years to Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) to establish the nation’s first national resource center to assist communities that provide services for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

The Human Rights Campaign, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lobbying group and political action committee, recently released the findings from its 2010 Corporate Equality Index.

Retired Army Gen. Colin L. Powell, whose opposition to allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military helped lead to adoption of the "don't ask, don't tell" legislation 17 years ago, said Wednesday that he now thinks the restrictive law should be repealed.

WASHINGTON — It's time to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow gay troops to serve openly for the first time in history, the nation's top defense officials declared Tuesday, with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff proclaiming that service members should not be forced to "lie about who they are."

Mexican federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will try to overturn Mexico City’s gay marriage law, which allows same-sex couples to adopt children, on the grounds it violates the constitution. The Mexico City law, approved in December and due to take effect in March, is the first of its kind in Latin America.

When Helena Bushong was elected chair of Illinois Gender Advocates late last year, her reaction was one of appropriate excitement. Her election was inevitably overshadowed, however, by what was to occur only weeks later. Bushong became the first transgender woman of color -- and only the second trans person -- ever invited to an official White House strategy meeting.

The only witnesses called by the backers of California's same-sex marriage ban in the federal court case examining whether the measure is unconstitutional both testified this week that the anti-gay law, known as Proposition 8, discriminates against gays and lesbians.

As a candidate for president, Barack Obama told the country's leading gay rights group, the Human Rights Campaign, "America is ready to get rid of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. All that is required is leadership." Now he is about to decide whether he will make good on his promise to end what he called a "policy of discrimination."

As the health care bill winds its way through Congress, sparking passions, heated debate and countless news stories, I have been struck by the dearth of discussion about a looming health care crisis: In 2011, the first of 78 million baby boomers will start turning 65. We, as a nation, are utterly unprepared for this rapidly approaching "silver tsunami."