“Please let the editors and writers of The Post know that if a man or women is openly gay to their family, friends and coworkers (as I am), reporting on their sexual orientation is as benign as reporting on their hair color,” - Chris Tharrington, on the Washington Post's ombudsman page.
It's good to see this being discussed outside of the Supreme Court. These can be tricky issues in a shifting society, but I support Tharrington's position. The Post, of course, remains of the view that someone's orientation - if they are gay - should be mainly concealed by the press. Even when that person was murdered, was out to his peers and reported by the police as gay. It seems you cannot "libel" someone who is dead, but you can "out" him. The WaPo implicitly believes that outing someone as gay is somehow worse than libel. And, yes, this is 2010.