Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a plan for making enforcement of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “more humane and fair.” Servicemembers will no longer be dismissed if they are involuntarily outed by a third party. Three—count ’em, three—U.S. representatives have introduced separate bills in the past week designed to protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing. Here’s my piece for Keen News Service on the matter. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced a bill to ensure that domestic partners currently covered by employer health plans have access to COBRA benefits—employer-provided health insurance for a limited period after leaving a job or other qualifying event. Midge Costanza, the first woman to hold the office of Assistant to the President of the United States (to President Carter), died this week. In 1977, she invited openly gay people to the White House for the first time. Karen Ocamb has a profile with more about