Counting gays requires context. (Photo: Associated Press)

TRANS ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL has passed another hurdle in the Maryland senate: It's cleared a committee vote to head to the Senate floor.  Before it cleared committee, opponents proposed three amendments that would have stripped the bill of all its anti-discrimination protections. The Washington Blade reports: "One [amendment] called for removing from the bill the provision banning job discrimination against transgender people and another would have removed the bill’s lanaguage protecting transgender Marylanders from housing discrimination. Another would have stricken a provision allowing people seeking redress under the law to take private legal action against against an employer, landlord and other parties accused of engaging in discriminatory practices prohibited under the law." The bill must now face votes in both the state Senate and House of Delegates in order to before tonight's legislative deadline.

AFTER THE JUMP: The challenges of counting LGBTs; Columbia Heights man seeks "fun and cute female roommate" for free rent; Chicago to adopt trans protections for trans detainees:

HUD launches ads promoting free in housing regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

THE CHALLENGE of counting LGBTs: "A survey designed to measure workplace discrimination, for instance, may focus more on those who publicly identify as LGBT, since it can be difficult to make a case that you are being discriminated against because of your sexual orientation or gender identity unless you’ve been open about it. A survey that considers HIV risk factors may want to include questions about sexual behavior, since that is the most likely mechanism for becoming infected. A survey of younger people might want to focus more on sexual attraction, since many young people have not had any sexual experiences and are not yet comfortable with specific labels of their sexual or gender identity. In fact, the number of people who self-identify as LGBT can and will differ from the number who say they have same-sex sexual experiences and the number who acknowledge same-sex attractions. Differences in these estimates do not mean we can’t measure the LGBT population with accuracy. Rather, they demonstrate that sexual orientation and gender identity are complex concepts worthy of further study."

CHICAGO PRISONS take a page from D.C.

LGBT and blogging for free.

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS MAN seeks "fun and cute female roommate" to live rent-free in fully furnished home of "attractive late twenties male." Remember: There is no such thing as free rent.