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This article discusses 2008 U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama's stance on gay rights, with a particular focus on gay marriage. Obama's commitments to gay legislation include a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, a reversal of the U.S. military "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military, and immigration rights for same-sex couples. It is stated that some members of the gay community are concerned because although Obama supports civil unions, he has expressed a belief that the right to marriage should be decided by individual states.

This article is focused on U.S. Air Force nurse Major Margaret Witt, who was dishonorably discharged from the military in July, 2007 under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military. It is stated that Witt served in the military for eighteen years, never disclosing her sexuality, then was placed on unpaid leave in 2004 after an unknown individual informed her commander of a relationship between Witt and her roommate. In May, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declared that the military must prove that Witt being a lesbian lowered morale.

The article profiles former Marine Eric Alva. Alva, the first soldier to be wounded in the Iraq War, is gay, and has become an activist for gays in the military. After losing a leg to a roadside bomb Alva was embraced as an American hero; he was photographed with U.S. President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the singer Sheryl Crow. Four years after his injury, Alva came out on "Good Morning America." He has testified before Congress in support of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a bill that would allow gays in the military. He has since appeared on a number of television programs and in front of gay rights groups. INSET: ABOUT THIS SPECIAL REPORT.

The article reports that openly gay soldiers are showing that the military is stronger for having out troops. Private Karissa Urmanita came out two weeks before she was deployed to Iraq and says that attitudes towards her in her unit have remained unchanged. She says lying about her sexuality required her to break the Army's rules of conduct every day. Hardline politicians and military leaders continue to claim that having openly gay troops serving risks troop morale and discipline. Navy petty officer Jason Knight and Army sergeant Darren Manzella talk about being out in the military.

The article reports on efforts to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law restricting gays in the military. Marine sergeant Brian Fricke was surprised to find that his fellow marines did not care about his sexual orientation, an opinion shared by the majority of service members, 73% of whom say they are comfortable serving with gays. A bill to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" is being reintroduced to Congress and is gaining support among legislators and top retired military leaders. Military leaders say the ban remains in place mostly due to lingering discriminatory attitudes among baby boomers. INSET: Against the ban.

This article reports on Call to Duty, a project organized by Alex Nicholson that will send a group of GLBT veterans and straight allies to U.S. universities in February and March 2006 to debate the don't ask, don't tell policy. It discusses the history of the project, describes the status of gay soldiers in the country, enumerates the universities that will host the project and offers information on the tour's speakers and officials. INSET: Booted from the base.

Presents an update on issues related to gays in the U.S. as of July 2005. Action taken by the federal government to reach out to gay-owned businesses; Web site that offers information on the retrial of the men accused of murdering transgender Araujo in Northern California in 2003; Source of news and information on efforts to topple the gay ban in the military.

This article deals with the efforts taken by researchers from the Library of Congress to record the stories of gay and lesbian World War II veterans. Allegedly, there are not many gay veterans of World War II who fought in a conflict that left nearly 50 million dead, as of June 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It is why the researchers are in a desperate rush to record the stories of soldiers, straight and gay, male and female, before they forever slip into history. In addition, the war's veterans will also be honored Memorial Day weekend with the opening of the long-awaited National World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Lara Ballard, a lesbian and former U.S. Army officer who served in Kuwait as part of Operation Southern Watch during the 1991 Gulf War, is working overtime to achieve as many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans as possible to submit videotaped oral histories of their military experiences. Apparently, Ballard has interviewed dozens of veterans from World War II through the present so that their stories will not be lost. Top priority is allegedly given to those now in their 70s and 80s, whose tales call forth a time that is almost unimaginable to young gay men and lesbians.

The article presents an interview with and a profile of U.S. presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark, with particular emphasis on his positions on GLBT rights issues such as same-sex marriage, and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military. Clark: The armed forces are the last institution in America that discriminates against people. It ought to be the first that doesn't...If they had this policy in place during Vietnam, there would have been nobody in the Army...They put [the ban] in place when we became an all-volunteer force...I think the supreme court decision in Massachusetts was the right decision. I think that people who want to form a contractual relationship--whether they are same-sex or different-sex--should have exactly the same rights and responsibilities."

Presents a roundup of news concerning the gay and lesbian community in the United States, as of July 3, 2001. Writer Michelangelo Signorile's expose on political commentator Andrew Sullivan's use of the Internet to meet other HIV-positive men for unprotected sex; Unveiling of a monument in Cathedral City, California, to honor gay service members killed in combat.

Examines the controversy raised by `Real World' actor Danny and military boyfriend Paul on issues pertaining to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy of the United States military. Reason for Paul's eventual participation in the show; Refusal of Danny to actively oppose the military for fear of Paul's identification; Decision of Paul to retire from the military after a year.

Elaborates on the status of gays in the United States Army. Accounts on the murder of soldier, Barry Winchell by a fellow soldier; Crusade of Winchell's mother, Patricia Kutteles against the `don't ask, don't tell' policy of the military; Plan of the parents to file a wrongful death suit against the Pentagon; Political efforts of mothers of murdered gay people.

Presents issues and events of interest to the gay rights movements that transpired in 1999. Includes lobbying for hate-crime bill in January; Revelation made by `The Advocate' magazine about gays in the military in February; Guilty plea by Russell Henderson to the murder of Matthew Shepard.

Cites events and trends considered as defining moments for the gay rights movement in the 20th century. Includes the imprisonment of gay author Oscar Wilde for engaging in `gross indecency'; Sex scandal involving the US Navy; Gay lifestyle in Harlem, New York City.

Cites events and news developments considered as defining moments for the gay rights movement in the 1990s. Includes actress Ellen DeGeneres' admission of her being a lesbian; Introduction of the protease inhibitors in the treatment of AIDS; Debate over gays in the military.

Focuses on the gay and lesbian scouts and service members in the United States. Efforts by the Boy Scouts of America and the military to expel gays and lesbians from their organizations; Details of how gays and lesbians use the things they learn in service to defend themselves; Details of the story of Eagle scout James Dale who sued the Boy Scouts of America; Legal and moral aspects of the issue. INSET: Legal brief.

Features Rich Merritt and his experience as a gay in the United States Marines. Photograph and article in `The New York Times'; Reaction of Merritt's commander and his men; Realization of his homosexuality; Life after retirement.

Relates the stories of three gay members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Cliff Arneson's reasons for joining the U.S. Army; Difficulties experienced by Mary Ann Humphrey upon entering the U.S. Marines for the second time; Experiences of a gay hairstyle with his gay military clients.

Discusses the legal status of gays in the U.S. armed forces. Information on gay people who have been discharged from the U.S. Navy; Explanation given by the U.S. Department of Defense on adverse effects of gays on armed forces; Overview of the liberalization of the U.S. military policy to resist gay people in the year 1978; Definition of homosexuals given by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Reports on how homosexual soldiers are benefitting from the `don't ask, don't tell' policy implemented by President Bill Clinton in 1994. Case of discharged soldiers Jeff Culler; Graph illustrating discharges in 1994; Experiences of other discharged gay soldiers.

Interviews gay ex-soldier Joe Zuniga concerning his military life in the U.S. Zuniga's receipt of the U.S. Army Soldier of the Year award; End of Zuniga's military career after revealing his sexual preference; Harassment of gay soldiers.

Looks at the personal side of the battle over the Pentagon's ban on gays and lesbians for some military families. Marine colonel Fred Peck's decision not to allow his gay son Scott to serve in the military; Resignation of Joseph Smith from the Air Force to take the burden off his father in choosing between his love for him and his duty to the military; Discharge of a general's daughter from the military because of rumors that she is a lesbian.

Reports on the U.S. Navy's investigation into homosexuality activity in the USS Blue Ridge. Incident which led to the probe; Claims of anti-gay bias against investigators; U.S. Department of Defense's policy on gays in the military.

The article looks at notable 2012 items related to U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It discusses the U.S. armed forces' implementation of the shift away from the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay and bisexual personnel. It notes the number of open gay athletes competing and winning medals at the 2012 summer Olympics. It discusses the ending of the LGBT television news program "In the Life."

Discusses the factors behind the increase in gay and lesbian discharges from the United States military. Murder of Army gay enlistee Barry Winchell; Increase in gay and lesbian discharges after the murder; Efforts of the government to stop the harassment of gay enlistees.

Highlights the story of Ronald Chapman, a gay man who entered the United States Army. Emotional and physical torture experienced by Chapman in the military; Occurrence of abuse of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy in the service; Harassment experienced by Chapman; Complaints made regarding the pace of the harassment investigation involving Chapman.

Focuses on the positions taken by politicians in the United States over the murder of gay US Armed Forces personnel, Barry Winchell. Criticisms by Democratic Party politicians against the `don't ask, don't tell' policy of the military; Attack of Republicans against actions taken by President Bill Clinton's administration without consulting with military leaders.

Focuses on the admission of gay men in the United States military. Pentagon ban on openly gay service members; Details of the case Able versus United States; Nuanced, incremental approach of the advocates for gay and lesbian service members. INSET: `We're asking and telling', by John Kerry & Ron Wyden..

Reports on the involvement of the Dutch military police in assisting the United States Air Force in exposing gay airmen stationed at the Soesterberg Air Force Base near Amsterdam. Evidence leading to the discovery of the scandal; Confirmation of four discharges for homosexuality in the military base.

Focuses on the case of Keith Meinhold, who was expelled from the U.S. Navy because of his homosexuality. Lawsuit filed against the Navy; Meinhold's claim that his expulsion under the homosexuality ban violated his constitutional rights; Other sailors' reactions to Meinhold's coming out.

Presents several correspondence related to gays. Prohibition of homosexuals to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and the majority of business establishments; Efforts of the gay newspaper to push for the improvement and defense of the homophile community; Comment on the prevalence of using the word queen in gay jargon.

The article discusses what impact the departure of transgendered director of the U.S. military rights group Outserve-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), Allyson Robinson, will have on the future of the LGBT organization's future. Topics include accusations of anti-transgender bias, Outserve-SLDN's financial troubles, the U.S. Don't Ask Don't Tell (DODT) military policy, and the organization Service Members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All (SPARTA).

The article profiles Allyson Robinson, executive director of the nonprofit group OutServe--Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy and support organization for U.S. LGBT armed forces members. It notes she is the first transgender director of a national LGBT organization. It recounts her military career, including attending the U.S. Military Academy and serving as an Army officer. Discrimination against LGBT people in the U.S. military is discussed.

In this article the author argues that LGBT conservatism is not inherently oxymoronic. He discusses LGBT support of the Republican Party in the U.S., pointing to a poll which found that 27 percent of U.S. LGBT voters voted for Republican Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. He suggests that same-sex marriage promotion and support for the inclusion of LGBT people in the military represent conservative philosophies.

The article profiles New York (NY) Army National Guard lieutenant Dan Choi. In March 2009 he and other members of Knights Out, a rogue alumni organization from the U.S. Military Academy, came out of the closet. When Choi spoke about Knights Out on the television program "The Rachel Maddow Show" the U.S. Department of Defense said that he had violated the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

The article reports on the partners of gay soldiers serving in Iraq. The military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is keeping gay troops from communicating with their partners. Francesca Pisa had to wait to hear from her partner, Marine captain Julianne Sohn's brothers, that she had survived an attack. Same-sex partners also are denied the benefits given to heterosexual partners of military service members. Partners do not receive the same basic information given to troops' families and next of kin.

The article profiles gay Marine veteran Jeff Key, who has devoted his life after the military to ending American militarism. His one-man show "The Eyes of Babylon," which is being made into a Showtime documentary called "Semper Fi." Key has served as body guard to anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. He founded the Mehadi Foundation to support soldiers dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. Key says the Iraq War is not only about oil, but about a new and unspoken American imperialism.

The article interviews gay rights activist Frank Kameny. Kameny talks about premature reports of his own death and discusses the implications of aging of the first generation of gay rights activists. He talks about gay issues currently in the news, including gays in the military, same-sex marriage and the scandal surrounding former Representative Mark Foley.

This article narrates an experience of a gay American soldier deployed in Iraq. The first few months of the deployment were depressing. He could not even utter the word gay in a meaningful conversation. The telephones provided to the soldiers for moral purposes lacked privacy. He was relegated to electronic and paper correspondence for links to anything gay. He came close to outing himself, leaving the Army, and ending the painful emotional isolation. At the end of the fifth month of the deployment, on a dare from one of the straight soldiers, an openly gay soldier approached him and introduced him to a group of totally out gay men. Just being able to talk to other gay soldiers, who could understand his frustrations, had a miraculous effect on his mental health. These moments made life bearable over the course of the next months. He began coming out to his company commander, to his second in charge in the office, and to a handful of other friends in the unit, all of who are very supportive.

Offers a look at conditions for openly gay men and women in the United States armed forces in 2004. Report that the United Kingdom lifted its ban on gay military service members in January 2000 after pressure from the European Court of Human Rights; Reference to a study entitled "Multinational Military Units and Homosexual Personnel," issued by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network; Analysis of multinational military coalitions and the relationships between U.S. and gay British, Dutch, Australian and Canadian troops.

The article reports on the decision by three high-ranking retired U.S. military officers -- Brigadier General Keith Kerr, Brigadier General Virgil Richard, and Rear Admiral Alan Steinman -- to fight against the military's antigay policy by revealing they are gay. All three men surprised the nation when they broke their silence in a December 10 article in "The New York Times," becoming the highest-ranking officers ever to come out publicly. Their coming-out, coordinated by Washington D.C.-based Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group for troops affected by the military's antigay "don't ask, don't tell" policy, coincides with the policy's 10-year anniversary. Says Steinman: "Our goal is that the discussion will eventually lead to taking a new look at 'don't ask, don't tell and getting Congress to repeal it.

Presents opinion of readers of the publication 'Advocate' in response to homosexuality-related articles published in the earlier issues of the publication. Need to support gay soldiers and their families during wars; Problems faced by gays in Islamic countries; Relevance of the character Mystique in the motion picture 'X2' to gays.

Reports developments on homosexuality in the U.S. as of April 2002. Organization restructuring of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center; Discharge of gay military; Efforts of Exodus International North America organization to change sexual orientations.

Analyzes the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy of the United States military based on a study conducted by Aaron Belkin, founder of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military. Rationale of the policy; Success of gay soldiers in Australia in completing their engagements; Working relationship between gay and straight soldiers in Canada.

Discusses the experiences of Margarethe Cammermeyer and Tommie Lee Watkins Jr. with the United States Armed Forces' antigay policies. Resignation of Watkins from the U.S. Naval Academy to avoid facing discharge because of his sexuality; Cammermeyer's winning of a lawsuit she filed against the military in 1994; Ineffectiveness of the military's `don't ask, don't tell' policy.

Presents a compilation of news relevant to the gay and lesbian community in the United States. Anti-gay stance of Reform Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan; Controversy surrounding the resignation of Tommie Lee Watkins Jr. from the U.S. Naval Academy after being outed by a close friend; Recreation of the original eight-color rainbow flag designed by Gilbert Baker to symbolize gay pride.

Focuses on the status of gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the United States Army. Reaction of closeted gay soldier US Army Michael McCoy over the death of Barry Winchell, another gay soldier; Increase in antigay graffiti around the military base; Decision of McCoy to disclose his identity and agree to an honorable dismissal; Report of the Service-members of Legal Defense Network on homophobia in the military.

Focuses on the criticisms of transgendered entertainer, Calpernia Addams against the mass media's sensationalized coverage of the murder of his gay, Barry Winchell. Negative impact of the coverage on the trial of the murder as a hate crime by the United States Armed Forces; Controversial angles of their relationship exploited by the media according to Addams.

Focuses on Arizona legislator Steve May's decision to fight any attempt to discharge him from the United States Army Reserve for being gay. Alleged violations committed by May according to the Army; Background on May's political career. INSET: Scouting for homophobia.

Focuses on the United States Department of Defense's guidelines on antigay harassment released after the death of Barry Winchell, a soldier beaten up because he was believed to be gay. Directives said not to change the military's basic policy; Suggested focus of the directives. INSET: Scouting for justice.