Being discussed in the forum right now:

"Just about 23.5 hours of my day are consumed by me thinking about how I am gay. It ranges from non stop thinking about guys, trying to guess who is gay that is walking past me, how to get a boyfriend, to thinking about coming out (I think about this the most). Obviously this leaves little time for things like, writing essays, like I am suppose to be doing right now...

So back to the question for all you out guys...after you came out did your mind go back to normal, as in thinking about other things than just being gay?" Join the discussion

The end of the military's ban on gays in the military could come as early as next year.

When human rights issues fall at the hands of defense priorities, what better way to reverse discriminatory policies than to attach it to a defense spending bill. It worked with The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Now, Rep. Barney Frank and other Congressional Dems want to try again, but this time with the controversial 'don't ask, don't tell' ban on gays in the military.

Dems plan to include the repeal as an amendment to a Department of Defense appropriations bill as early as next year... more at Advocate.com

The following are LGBT poverty facts collected from the 2000 census:

-Gay men are sometimes poorer and sometimes less poor than heterosexual men.

-Lesbian women across data sets are consistently poorer than their heterosexual counterparts.

-22 to 64 percent of transgender people reported earning less than $25,000 per year. (source: The Williams Institute)

Related:
What Gays Need To Know About The 2010 Census

The American Medical Association took a shot at anti-LGBT government policies Tuesday, saying they are detrimental to the health of gay and lesbian individuals.

The nation's largest doctor's lobby adopted a resolution declaring the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality. Gay and lesbian patients fearful of their military careers hesitate to disclose their sexual orientation when talking about certain health issues. By command, military doctors must report their patient's sexual orientation to superiors.

The declaration also calls for the expansion of federal marriage statutes since prohibiting gay and lesbian couples from marrying excludes individuals from receiving health care benefits such as insurance or medical leave.

On Wednesday, Danvers High School Principal Thomas Murray threatened to suspend students caught "meeping." What's meeping? Well, all any adult seems to know is that it originated from the meeps of the Muppet character Beaker.

The students don't seem to have a clear answer either, which means that meeping is exactly what it sounds like: nonsense that has adults scrambling around over-analyzing.

Speaking of over-analyzing: I find this story interesting because meeping seems like more of an annoyance than a detriment to student education—like say, the phrases "that's so gay" and "no homo," which require far more community and activist protest to deter.

Is it them or us that don't get it?
Do teen meepers, that's so gayers and no homos really understand what it is that they're saying or are they walking around blurting the latest trend? I'm reminded of my teenage brother who once told me how gay his new Xbox game was. After a back and forth about how offensive it is to call something gay when you really mean stupid or silly, he told me that he never though about it in that way. It was just what the other kids say, he said... more

Gays and anal. They've got to go together, right? All gays are doing it.

Well, not quite. About a quarter of all gay men have never had anal sex and some have no desire to. See why not all gay men are into anal.

Does having HIV increase your chances of contracting H1N1 (or the Swine Flu) virus?

"Since we know that HIV weakens the immune system, naturally we would assume people with HIV would be more at risk," says Mark Cichocki, About.com Guide to HIV/AIDS. "Actually that is not the case. Because our immune systems are not responsible for fighting off the flu, HIV positive people are generally not considered to be at greater risk of contracting the flu than HIV negative people, regardless of their immune system health."

Mark warns that there is an exception. HIV-positive people should keep in mind that "bacterial pneumonia often accompanies influenza" and "people with certain chronic illnesses, including HIV are at added risk for a superinfection of bacterial pneumonia once they get the flu." So, those with weaker immune systems should take added precautions... jump

Larry Johnson has made his last public fumble in Kansas City. The pro bowl running back was cut from the Chiefs one day after his suspension for mouthing gay slurs to Twitter fans and a reporter in the team locker room.

The move by the Chiefs and the NFL shows that they are willing to take action by holding their players responsible for offensive plays off the field. Fans agree: After Johnson's incident, the Chiefs were petitioned to prohibit him from gaining the 75 yards he needed break the team's rushing record.

The Supreme Court on Monday will consider whether sentencing youth offenders that have committed non-homicidal crimes to life in prison without parole is cruel or unusual punishment. The cases involve two youths, Joe Harris Sullivan, one of only two 13-year-olds sentenced to life in prison without parole, and Floridian Terrance Graham, who was sentenced at age 17. Currently, Florida is the nation's leader in youth incarceration rates.

Gay youth in prison
The treatment of LGBT youth in prison, although not directly related to Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida, must be examined before the court. LGBT youth represent as much as 13 percent of the total detained youth population... jump

Two guys locked in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu floor work—one on top, one on bottom—each in an attempt to submit the other with impenetrable holds sounds homoerotic; but are the gladiator contests of ultimate fighting "sporno" or just rough homosocial play?

An ultimate fighter has yet to come out publicly since The New York Times, About.com's parent company, featured gay rough-house Shad Smith in the magazine last year. The sport, however, has attracted an avid base of gay and bi fighters and fans.

As a person who trains with other boxers, I'd argue that there are more gay/bi boxing and MMA enthusiasts than the notoriously homophobic boxing leagues will admit. Yet, other leagues, such the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), aren't so quick to tap out openly gay fighters.

"Any guy involved in grappling is the furthest thing from homophobic in the world," UFC President Dana White said, as reported by The Daily Beast. "I honestly think it would have no impact whatsoever with not only our fighters or our fan base."

White's gay embrace comes after a previous blast for spitting anti-gay slurs at his critics.

Could this be a new day for ultimate? Will underground gay boxing clubs start sparring out in the open? Given the historically homoerotic-yet-homophobic nature of hyper-masculine sports like boxing, it may be some time. But, with Dana White's crack in the door, ultimate could soon be the most open sport yet.

Image: Anderson Silva (R) fights Patrick Cote in the UFC Middleweight Title Bout. © Tasos Katopodis/Getty