Gay Soldier Dan Choi Re-enlists in US Army

Lt. Dan Choi, the out gay soldier who has been at the front of efforts to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, has re-enlisted in the US army.

Lt Choi, who is an Iraq veteran and Arabic linguist, was served with discharge papers in 2009 after coming out on national television.

After a US District Judge ruled that the ban on out gay soldiers should be immediately lifted last week, he went to a military recruitment centre in New York’s Time Square yesterday.

The Pentagon has directed military recruiters to accept applicants who declare they are gay, although such recruits must be warned that the ban’s legal situation may change,

After leaving the centre, Lt Choi told reporters outside that his application had been accepted, pending some medical paperwork.

According to Raw Story, he said: “They didn’t disintegrate in there. The unit cohesion is doing just fine.”

He added: “Able bodied, patriotic Americans, regardless of their orientation, are eligible to come on back and sign up to serve their country, openly, honestly, with integrity, acknowledging their partners, acknowledging their families and their lives as full citizens.

“I encourage everyone else to do that. Being in there today was absolutely exciting and absolutely vindicating.”

Some gay rights groups have warned potential recruits to keep quiet about their sexuality for now, as Judge Virginia Phillips’ ruling may be contested by the government at a higher court.

Lt Choi has become the poster boy for the fight to repeal the 1993 law.

During the summer, he twice chained himself to the White House fence to protest against the ban.

He was arrested on both occasions and refused to pay a fine, which led to a court appearance. He was cleared on charges of failing to comply with a lawful order.

President Obama promised he would repeal the law in his 2008 election campaign.

Under the current law, gay and lesbian soldiers must keep their sexual orientation secret. They can be fired if they, or someone else, reveals it.

A review is underway and expected to end in December, while troops are being surveyed on their views towards lifting the ban.

OUT Magazine Introduces the Class of 2009

In it’s 16th annual Out 100 issue, Out magazine anoints Adam Lambert breakout star after the musician catapulted from Wicked chorus boy to American Idol cover boy earlier this year.

In an extended online interview, the star candidly discusses his sexuality, his newfound fame, and why he finds it hard to sustain a relationship: “Being in the gay community, we don’t grow up with any role models for that. We don’t know what we’re supposed to be.”

This year’s portfolio of 100 gay men, lesbians and transgender people, plus ally Cyndi Lauper, was shot entirely by award-winning photographer Jason Bell, and is the largest annual magazine portfolio in the world. Bell’s portraits draw inspiration from the classroom and the schoolyard as the unifying theme for this year’s portfolio. Actor Neil Patrick Harris smokes in the bleachers, director Pedro Almodovar sports a hickey, Top Gun icon Kelly McGillis stares moodily from a school bus, and playwright Tony Kushner coyly aims a slingshot at an unsuspecting target.

Here’s what Adam Lambert had to share with Out…

On Sexuality: “To some people, me being sexual is really offensive because I’m gay. They’re like, ‘He’s being really gay.’ And I’m like, actually, ‘No, I’m just being sexual.’ Male sexuality is frightening to America [but] female sexuality is all over the place.”

On Fame: “Fame doesn’t freak me out, and I can handle it. But sometimes out in public there are people that just are so rude.

“Like, people are really cool about it and they’ll come up to you and they’re just like, “Oh hey man, I really liked you.” It’s brief, it’s sweet, it’s genuine. But some people freak out. And I’m like, why are you freaking out? I don’t get that mentality. I’ve never felt like that about a celebrity before — except maybe Madonna.

“When I met Madonna my heart was racing. That’s my one experience being star-struck. And I told her, ‘I’m freaking out.’ And she said, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Because you’re f—ing Madonna.’”

Featured among the other major honorees:

Wanda Sykes: Entertainer of the Year
The comedian emceed Barack Obama’s first White House Correspondent’s dinner earlier this year, and landed her own nighttime talk show on Fox that premiered this month.

Cyndi Lauper: Ally of the Year
No pop diva has flexed her muscles for gay equality as much as Cyndi Lauper. Among her most laudable achievement is the True Colors Residence in Harlem—the first permanent supportive housing facility for LGBT youth in New York State. “Kids are coming out in greater numbers as they see themselves accepted and represented on TV and in movies,” says Lauper. “But they’re still being kicked out of their homes or running away and living on the streets. We need to make sure we’re taking care of them.”

Rob Marshall: Artist of the Year
The six-time Tony-nominated choreographer and director follows up his Oscar-winning Chicago with another movie musical, Nine, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, and Sophia Loren, among others.

Dan Choi: Newsmaker of the Year
After making waves in March when he appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show as a spokesperson for Knights Out, a group for gay West Point students and alumni, Choi was notified that he’d be investigated for breaching Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. In spite of a petition in his support, with some 162,000 signatures, Choi was discharged, and has since taken a leading role in the fight to end DADT.

Christopher Bailey: Stylemaker of the Year
The 38-year-old Creative Director of Burberry who draws inspiration from the such sources as cult gay British director Derek Jarman and artist David Hockney, has been responsible for turning the label into a multibillion-dollar powerhouse.

The latest edition of OUT goes on sale on November 24th. For the complete Out 100 go to www.out.com/Out100.