President Obama signed the Shepard-Byrd Act into law today, which adds gender identity, sexual orientation and disability as categories to the federal hate crimes law. The bill was originally drafted in 1996 and has increased momentum since the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. in 1998. After more than a decade, the rights many activists fought for is finally coming to fruition, and this bill’s importance lies in being one of the most inclusive LGBT issues currently in the public consciousness.

Army Secretary John McHugh stated to the Army Times on October 25 that he believes the Army can handle the repeal of DADT, a belief he shares with the more than 13,500 servicemembers who have been discharged for their bi- or homosexuality.

OMG-zors! Scholastic, like, totally retracted their ban of a book featuring a character with lesbian moms. Lauren Myracle’s Luv Ya Bunches was sidelined from Scholastic book fairs and clubs for crude language–like the especially vile “crap,” “sucks” and “geez,” WTHuh?–and for including a normalized depiction of homosexual characters. After complaints from bloggers and queer rights groups, Scholastic decided to allow the book to be featured in their book clubs.

A genderqueer student was named homecoming queen at William and Mary College, representing the class of 2011. Jessee Vasold says that ze does not identify as male or female but was surprised and honored by the decision. Vasold is currently the undersecretary for the college’s GLBT Affairs.

We knew there was a reason Dorothy was our favorite. The estate of Bea Arthur has bestowed $300,000 on the Ali Forney Center in New York, a non-profit working to provide homes to LGBT youth who have been disowned by their families. The donation will be used to build a new 12-person facility.