The Courage Campaign has released a new video encouraging supporters to ask California's Supreme Court not to divorce the 16,000 couples wed in that state.

And in the beautiful lyrics of Regina Spektor, this video certainly does "break my heart." Quite touching.

And don't just watch the video and think you are finished.
Watch. Take Action. Tell your story. Do it, now.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave a surprising un-political answer when asked if the administration would repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Gibbs answered, "Yes".

The Obama administration now is signaling that the repeal of DADT won't be immediate and perhaps not even in this year. Obama is hoping to canvass more military and congressional leaders to get them comfortable on the issue before moving forward.

According to The Boston Globe: "They (Administration officials) said Obama, who pledged during the campaign to overturn the law, does not want to ask lawmakers to do so until the military has completed a comprehensive assessment of the impact that such a move would have on military discipline. Then, the president hopes to be able to make a case to members of both parties that overturning the 1993 law would be in the best interest of national security.

Obama is hoping to avoid the missteps of the Clinton administration when it tried to open the ranks to gays and lesbians, only to be confronted by fierce resistance from lawmakers and commanders. Early in his presidency, Bill Clinton signed an order allowing gays to serve but was forced to back off. A compromise made it illegal for gays to serve openly, but also restricted investigations into service members' sexual behavior."

Aubrey Sarvis - Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund - seemed comfortable with Obama's approach. She said, "The Clinton experience makes a lot of folks [in the administration] apprehensive."

There seems to be a growing campaign among DADT supporters to keep Obama from repealing the outdated policy despite military leaders such as Colin Powell publicly coming out in support of repealing it.

And since we are on the topic of the military's DADT policy, I thought you'd all enjoy these videos.

And, finally this gem. Which really begs the question if allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would really hurt troop morale. Methinks not.

In the wake of the passing of Prop 8 in California there were many fingers pointing to communities of color attempting to lay blame for our loss on them. While most of those early critiques have been debunked it was inspiring to see that over the weekend Al Sharpton blasted churches for their support of Prop 8.

He spoke as the keynote speaker of the Human Rights Ecumenical Service at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Atlanta.

From Page One Q:
"There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people's bedrooms and claim that God sent you," Sharpton told a full house on Sunday.

"It amazes me, when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being [relegated] into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners."

That's the type of leadership that we need to see from our national leaders from every community speaking out about injustices faced by everyone. Thanks Al!

International Human Rights Day is today - December 10 - and 60 years after the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights there is still much to celebrate and work for. All across the country LGBT people and allies will be participating in the "Day Without A Gay" protest.

Locally, the Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival and Center Advocates are hosting a lively cocktail hour of hors d’oeuvres and spirits at The Twisted Fork from 5:30-6:30 tonight followed by a screening of Gus Van Sant's powerful biopic MILK at the Oriental Theater. There are still tickets available for this event and can be purchased through the Peck School of the Arts Box Office by calling 414-229-4308 between the hours of 10AM-5PM. Tickets can also be purchased in person at The Twisted Fork.

Through the generous support of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation's Johnson & Pabst LGBT Humanity Fund all contributions will be matched up to a total of $10,000. That's a great way to support two incredible organizations and share an incredible evening of entertainment with friends and family.

** Comedy Central's The Daily Show host, Jon Stewart, turns 46 today.

** Is Iowa the next state to allow same-sex marriage? A new Big Ten Battleground Poll finds that 58% of Iowans support recognizing same-sex unions. Of that group, 28% support same-sex marriage.

** Jake Gyllenhaal is a goof-ball. Check out these shots of him acting a total fool.

** In Albany, an appeals court has ruled that transgender individuals can change from traditionally "male" to traditionally "female" first and middle names, regardless of any potential confusion. A lower court had ruled that transgender individuals couldn't make the change because of possible confusion.

** Rumors were circulating the blogosphere this week that President elect Barack Obama would postpone repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Obama's transition team denied such rumors.
From HuffPo: "An Obama transition team spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the decision on how to approach repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which prohibits gays from serving openly in the military, would be made after more experts have joined the Obama administration."