Roundup: Will Obama Ask to End Don't Ask, Don't Tell?

Tonight is the president's State of the Union address and while he is sure to address health care reform there is some hope that Obama may also call on Congress to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for the military.

Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, set off the guessing game Monday when he told reporters that the White House asked him to postpone an announcement about an upcoming hearing on the so-called 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy because the president plans to address the issue.

The Michigan Democrat said he didn't know what Obama plans to say, but speculation is mounting that he will call on Congress to repeal the 1993 law that established the policy that bars gays from serving openly in the ranks -- either by proposing his own legislation or backing a draft bill in the House sponsored by Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, an Iraq War veteran who represents suburban Philadelphia.

This would be welcome news, particularly since President Obama promised to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" when campaigning in 2008. Coincidentally the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, a public policy institute that studies sexual orientation law, just released a survey that shows an increase of gay men and women serving in the military.

An estimated 66,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual people are serving in the U.S. military, roughly 2 percent of all military personnel, according to a report released Tuesday by a gay rights policy center. The figures suggest a slight increase in the number of gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the military, and they provide opponents of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy with fresh data as they lobby the Obama administration for its repeal.

Gays, lesbians and bisexuals account for about 13,000 active duty service members, equal to less than 1 percent currently deployed, the report estimated. About 53,000 others serve in the National Guard and reserves, equaling about 3.4 percent.

In other good news for gay men and women the online dating site eHarmony, which didn't offer gay, lesbian and bisexual matching services until last year, has settled a class action lawsuit.

As a result of a 2008 settlement with the state of New Jersey, which sued the company for discrimination, men and women seeking same-sex matches were redirected from eHarmony to an affiliate Web site, Compatiblepartners.net.

A separate class-action civil rights lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles in 2007, saying that eHarmony violated California law barring businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation.

The proposed settlement would require eHarmony to display its gay and lesbian dating services more prominently.

 Bonus item: Remember the former president, George W. Bush? He's fundraising for a crisis pregnancy center in Indiana.