I’ve been all fire and brimstone on the Obama administration lately– and, I think, my anger has been justifiable.

But my overarching disappoitnment with how the administration is handling most issues important to the LGBT community doesn’t mean I’m incapable of recognizing the small, positive steps they’re taking in the right direction. Last week’s ceremony offering official apology to Dr. Frank Kameny for his 1957 firing from the civil service was a nice symbolic step, for example. The administration’s decision to insist of counting same-sex marriages in the 2010 census was also a sign of progress.

And then at the end of last week, we got an action that was more than just symbolic.

The Obama administration has taken the first step toward lifting the ban on HIV positive foreign citizens from entering the United States. The administration’s Office of Management and Budget posted a notice on Friday indicating that the department of Health and Human Services should begin the work to reverse its regulation which disallows HIV positive foreigners from entering the US.

Congress passed the policy change last year, and though the bill was signed by President Bush, it has not been implemented at this point.

The implementation likely has wide-ranging effects on both travel and immigration policy. Under the current law, foreign citizens who are HIV positive canont travel to the United States and immigrants can be subject to HIV testing, and deportation if they’re found to be HIV positive. The exact changes to be made in curent regulation will be determined by the Department of Health and Human Services, but the bill passed by Congress grants broad authority to overturn the ban completely.