The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

The United States is moving closer to repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT), a policy that requires lesbian and gay servicemembers to conceal their sexual orientation or face expulsion from the military.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 234-194 to allow the Department of Defense to repeal the policy after the completion of a Pentagon implementation study. The vote came just hours after the Senate Armed Service Committee approved similar legislation by a vote of 16-12.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission recently adopted changes to the federal sentencing guidelines to permit crimes in which the victim is intentionally selected on the basis of gender identity to be eligible for sentencing enhancements.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, announced yesterday the creation of a working group within the Department of Defense that will evaluate how to implement a full repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the law that requires LGBT servicemen and women to keep their sexual orientation a secret or face discharge.

President Obama recently appointed Amanda Simpson, a transgender woman, to be the senior technical adviser to the Department of Commerce.

Simpson – the first ever transgender presidential appointee – will serve in the department's Bureau of Industry and Security. The federal agency enforces sanctions and embargoes on various goods and regulates the export of sensitive technologies, such as software and machinery. Since 9/11, the bureau has made restricting the export of technologies that could be potentially used to create weapons of mass destruction a top priority.

With 30 years of experience working in the aerospace and defense industries, most recently serving as deputy director in advanced technology development at Raytheon Missile Systems, Simpson is exceptionally qualified for the position. 

A dedicated civil rights activist, Simpson played a major role in getting Raytheon to include gender identity as part of its equal employment opportunity policy in 2005.  She sits on the board of two national organizations, Out & Equal and the National Center for Transgender Equality, a social justice organization dedicated to advancing the equality of transgender people and a member of The Leadership Conference.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently proposed new regulations to ensure that its housing programs are open to all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The regulations clarify that the term "family" as HUD uses it includes LGBT individuals and couples and requires HUD grantees and participants in HUD programs to comply with local and state non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and gender identity. The regulations specify that any mortgage loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration must be based only on credit-worthiness and not on unrelated identity factors.

The department also plans to authorize the first national study of discrimination of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing.  Although there have been no national studies of housing discrimination against LGBT people, state and local studies show significant evidence of discrimination.

"The evidence is clear that some are denied the opportunity to make housing choices in our nation based on who they are and that must end. President Obama and I are determined that a qualified individual and family will not be denied housing choice based on sexual orientation or gender identity," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said.