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Military Gay Issue Delay Expected
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to delay until 2010 a decision to seek an end to the ban on open gays in the military, according to transition team advisers. He made repealing the ban a campaign promise. But advisers told The Washington Times the incoming President first wants to form a consensus among the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new Pentagon appointees before going to Congress on the potentially explosive matter. Currently, a compromise policy known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell requires gay service members to keep their sexuality private, or face expulsion from the US armed services. About 12,500 people have been discharged under the policy. Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he had held “informal discussions” with the Obama transition team on how to proceed on the issue, which he also expects to come up in 2010.

eHarmony Agrees To Allow Same-Sex Ads
Internet matchmaker eHarmony.com has agreed to provide services to people seeking same-sex relationships, under a settlement reached in New Jersey. In 2005, Eric McKinley, a gay man from New Jersey, sued the online dating service after it refused to take his personal advertisement, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The lawsuit triggered an investigation into the company by state officials, according to the newspaper. Under the terms of the settlement, eHarmony agreed to provide a new service for gay men and lesbians by March 31, 2009. In return for eHarmony’s agreeing to the policy change, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights dismissed the complaint.
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