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Gates: Pentagon "Looking for Flexibility" in "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Apparently the pressure on the White House is working. Less than 24 hours after Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said there would be no change in the implementation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and President Obama said the only solution was a legislative solution, Defense Secretary Robert Gates now signals the Pentagon is "looking for flexibility" to apply the law.

The Pentagon boss said he discussed the issue last week with US President Barack Obama and that there also has been discussion among senior military and legal counsel about possible changes in how they apply the law, which he described as "very restrictive." Gates added: "What I discovered when I got into it was it's a very restrictive law. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, or a lot of flexibility."

The defense secretary said one possible modification might be consider the circumstances under which a service member is "outed" in determining whether or not he or she must leave the military. Gates offered as an example "when we're given information from someone with vengeance in mind or blackmail, somebody who has been jilted. "If somebody is outed by a third party, does that force us to take action?" he said. "That's the kind of thing we're looking at -- seeing if there's a more humane way to apply the law until it gets changed."

Gates' surprising new announcement contradicts White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who said yesterday on MSNBC the President "hasn't, himself, been involved in meetings with the Pentagon."

The welcome policy shift signaled by Gates could potentially save many careers. Some experts on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the failed policy that prevents gays from serving openly, have estimated a majority of servicemembers' "outings" are brought by jilted lovers.

Last week, some seventy-seven congressmen sent a letter to the President urging him "to take immediate action" and stop DADT investigations. Also last week, the Center for American Progress produced a set of recommendations for the White House to begin ending DADT. The Administration rebuffed both of these.

Thanks RAVENBACK!

Bebe Zahara Benet in "Paper"

A very fabulous Bebe Zahara Benet pulls up to the bumper in a new feature in the July issue of Paper, the New York City-based fashion-forward lifestyle bible (Note: Feature not online yet.). Bebe, of course, was born in the Cameroon as Nea Marshall Kudi and worked as a male model in Paris until he was asked to switch genders at a show due to a missing female model. "Bebe" was born and the rest is history: She was crowned the winner of RuPaul's Drag race on LOGO.

Bebe talks at length about the oppressive atmosphere in some African nations that makes its difficult for LGBT youth: "Ideas we take for granted here, like celebrating individuality and being rewarded for it, are not popular ones in many parts of Africa. I had to come all the way to the U.S, to know who I am and express it with freedom."

In a recent interview with Out, Benet said: "Where I come from drag is unheard of. It’s just not possible. Do you know how many little boys and girls are sitting there and want to artistically express themselves and don’t have the opportunity to just because the culture says 'A is A and B is B'?"

Cameroon boasts one of the continent's more repressive regimes for LGBTs. The central African nation has become infamous for routinely subjecting men accused of sodomy to legal ordeals that continue for years.

Minnesota Supreme Court Certifies Franken Winner in Senate Race

Some eight months after the November 2008 election, the Minnesota Supreme Court declares Democrat Al Franken the winner of the state’s fiercely contested U.S. Senate election. The unanimous decision clears the way for Franken to be seated.

Politico notes Republican challenger Norm Coleman still has the option to "seek a review from the U.S. Supreme Court or file a whole new case in U.S. District Court." Coleman apparently "accepted the loss in a press conference shortly after the decision was announced", the Huffington Post reports.

Franken becomes  the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate. With Franken and the usual support of two independents, Democrats should have enough votes to overcome Republican filibusters.

Since the Democrats have their "60 votes" now, will we get movement on hate crimes, ENDA and some other gay rights legislation? Or will still afraid that "Democrats" like Nelson, Lincoln, and Bayh will support GOP filibusters? UPDATE: Coleman Concedes: "We have a new United States Senator."

New BlackBerry and Lost Contacts

If you've following me over at Facebook or Twitter, you probably heard about my week without being able to use my BlackBerry. The new BOLD arrived this afternoon but unfortunately the contacts will not import from the SIM. If we've talked on the telephone, please email or Facebook your contact info. Many thanks!

LA Sheriff to Expand Condom Distribution to Gay Prisoners

At the same time many states and municipalities are reluctant to distribute condoms in prisons, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca may expand an eight-year-old program at Men's Central Jail that distributes condoms in a unit for gay men, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"The nonprofit Center for Health Justice has been visiting the jail almost weekly since 2001, when Baca approved a small but groundbreaking program that allowed the health group to pass out prophylactics to inmates in a segregated unit for gay men. [The Center] has distributed more than 43,655 condoms to inmates since the project began, but said that is not nearly enough. ... The sheriff is pondering whether to expand it by doubling the number of condoms distributed to the 300 inmates within the segregated unit. It would be one of the most aggressive measures in the nation's jails and prisons to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, experts say."

LA County Sheriff officials say about 65 new HIV cases are detected each month.  On average "there are about 1,400 people in L.A. County jails with HIV each year" and the health cost is about $2 million per year.

Currently, only several jails in the United States—including some in San Francisco, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.—offer condoms to inmates. Condoms are also available to prisoners in Vermont. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has sponsored legislation that would require condoms in federal prisons.

Solis Criticizes Defacing of Gay Pride Posters at Labor Dept.

Last week, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis issued a stern departmental warning letter after office posters celebrating LGBT Pride Month "hanging in 35 department elevators since June 22 [were] either defaced or removed," the New York Times reports. Solis, who helped found the House’s LGBT Caucus, writes she was "particularly pleased to have the opportunity to be the first Secretary in the department’s history to publicly recognize Pride Month."

"It appears, however, that some members of the Labor Department team have a different view, as it has come to my attention that most of the posters have been continually defaced or removed. On several occasions, even the poster frames have been torn completely off the elevator walls. [...] I do not believe these actions represent the majority of our employees, so I refuse to let this situation define us. But I do want to make myself absolutely clear: Respect for others is non-negotiable at the U.S. Department of Labor."

The Secretary adds the gay Pride posters will be "immediately" replaced if they are damaged or removed.

While in Congress representing California's 32nd District (East Los Angeles), Hilda Solis had 100% rating by the Human Rights Campaign on LGBT issues.

(via Think Progress)

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Riot Police in Dominican Republic Disperse Gay Pride Gathering

"A small gay pride gathering that took place Saturday evening in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was interrupted" by riot police, according to Blabbeando's Andrés Duque, who offers a rough translation of the report "Democratic Modernity and Homophobic Repression in the Dominican Republic" in Diario Digital.

Even though LGBT Dominicans have celebrated a number of public gay pride events every June since 2001, there hasn't been a single event in which organizers have not run into opposition by Dominican authorities in the form of permit delays and denials and outright interventions. In this case, authorities had denied a request from Santo Domingo's Metropolitan Church to hold a gathering at Duarte Park and host a religious event in observance of gay pride on Saturday. Despite the lack of a permit, a few LGBT individuals decided to gather at the park and celebrate, which led to the police intervention.

The events described in the park sound very much like the events at Stonewall. The translation continues:  The park was surrounded "with agents from the National Policeand Politur and police vehicles with emergency lights on, while uniformed agents took photos of those who were present with the clear purpose of intimidation."

As recently as June 2007, Duque reports "close to 250 people congregated ... in a show of LGBT public visibility" "without incident at Santo Domingo's Duarte Park.

Dominique Hollington Backstage and on the Runway for Versace

For the second season in a row, Dominique Hollington is the belle of the ball at Milan Fashion Week. And also for the second season in a row, RED Models' dark and lovely new face (and! body!) walks for Versace.

WHEN YOU JUMP, go from behind-the-scenes to the (virtual) front row as Dominique Hollington storms the runway for Versace. Totally loving the French Legion-inspired fashion. But it's all about Dominique's lips, no?

White House Reception Recognizes LGBT Pride and Stonewall 40th

Forty years after the Stonewall riots sparked the gay rights movement, President Barack Obama hosts an historic reception for LGBT activists and their families to honor LGBT Pride and the 40th Stonewall anniversary. The speech, carried live on CNN and other networks, marks the first time a sitting president has given a live televised speech on LGBT issues.

The President, who has been criticized by many LGBT rights advocates for inaction on his many campaign promises, says his Administration has made some progress on behalf of gay Americans and will do more. Full remarks AFTER THE JUMP:

"I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that," Mr. Obama said at a reception for LGBT Pride Month at the White House. "It's not for me to tell you to be patient anymore than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half-century ago."

"But I say this: We have made progress," the president continued. "And we will make more. And I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I've made, but by the promises that my administration keeps."

Obama spoke about the "movement" created some 40 years ago: "The riots at Stonewall gave way to protests, and protests gave way to a movement, and the movement gave way to a transformation that continues to this day. It continues when a partner fights for her right to sit at the hospital bedside of a woman she loves; it continues when a teenager is called a name for being different and says, 'So what if I am?'; it continues in your work and in your activism, in your fight to freely live your lives to the fullest."

The list of attendees was forwarded by the White House Press Office to Rod 2.0. (Full list AFTER THE JUMP.) Invited guests included openly gay Administration officials such as Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry and Asst. Labor Secretary Mary Beth Maxwell. Leading LGBT advocates such as Human Rights Campaign's Joe Solmonese, and Jarrett Barrios, the new president of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

There were a number of prominent black and Latino LGBTs that should be familiar to Rod 2.0 readers: Phil Wilson, Black AIDS Institute; HRC's Donna Payne; Andre Leon Talley; Connecticut State Rep. Jason Bartlett; Denise Simmons, Mayor of Cambridge, MA;  Cornelius Baker, National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition; San Diego City Commissioner Stampp Corbin; actor Wilson Cruz; Bishop Yvette Flunder, City of Refuge United Church of Christ;  Earl Fowlkes, International Federation of Black Prides; Lupe Valdez, Dallas County Sheriff; and black Chicago lesbian leaders Mary Morten and Vernita Gray, interviewed in my Advocate cover story on Obama and Hillary Clinton.

An historic occasion and we should be mindful of the progress being made and how much further we have to go. It was also a pleasure to hear Obama allude to the black Civil Rights Movement. The occasion would have been more meaningful if there were more substantive policy initiatives to announce. The guest list was pleasantly diverse ... but very Stonewall 1.5. Online LGBT activists are leading the fight for equality and none were represented. Very out of character with the Facebook, YouTube and BlackBerry-driven White House.

WHEN YOU JUMP, Obama's full remarks and the guest list.

NBA Baller Ben Gordon's Backup Plan: Barney's Creative Director

Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon, one of the standout players in the NBA, goes from making some rather suggestive moves on-the-court to making some moves behind the scenes in the fashion industry. Gordon is well-known for his tasteful fashion aesthetic and gets his fashionista on for ESPN: The Magazine. The baller spends the day and camps it up with Simon Doonan, the Barney's creative director and husband to designer and Bravo personality Jonathan Adler.

"I have a European fashion sense," Gordon tells Doonan. "I love the fine tailoring and the fit."

AFTER THE JUMP, via Rod 2.0 reader FF, watch the video and a few more photos. And despite the many  stereotypes, how freakin' cool is it that a black professional ball player appreciates fashion and can glam and camp it up with fashion's power gays?