· For the second time in as many weeks, a vote has been delayed on the proposed& ; Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Last week, the bill passed a committee on a 27 - 21 vote. The House's only openly lesbian member, Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin, proposed an amendment to restore transgender protections but it has reportedly been tabled.
· Via Alex Blaze at The Bilerico Project: Jared Polis, the openly gay congressional candidate in Colorado, begins blogging on ENDA at Daily Kos. Look for our upcoming profile of Polis in The Advocate.
· Another month, another hot cover at Dallas-based Krave. Dirty Laundry star Rockmond Dunbar covers the next issue. Rod 2.0 crush object Mehcad Brooks was the October cover.
· In a potentially landmark decision, the United Methodist Church rules a transgender pastor can remain in the ministry.The UMC bans openly gays and lesbians "from serving as clergy, but its Book of Discipline makes no mention of transsexual people."
· Think Progress reports Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (R) is the only senator to "earmark" federal funds for abstinence education, "quietly [adding] more than two dozen earmarks... totaling more than $1 million."
· Report: HIV first arrived in the United States in 1969 from Haiti, most likely carried by "a single infected immigrant who set the stage for it to sweep the world in a tragic epidemic."
· The Human Rights Campaign gets a thumbs up from Virginia Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine. An HRC field staffer reports that during a speech on the campaign trail, the governor acknowledged their work and said, "We are joined by great groups like the Human Rights Campaign," which "shows that not only our efforts making a difference, but they’re also being noticed by those in power."
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