This fall, I will take on one of the proudest roles in my life: best man.  My best friend will be marrying his boyfriend and has asked me to witness their lifelong commitment to one another. They originally talked about having their big day in Vermont or on a cruise, but now the location for the wedding might be the Big Apple.  The explanation for the change is simple:

On Friday night, New York became the sixth state to grant marriage equality.  What may be more shocking is that the marriage equality bill passed through a Republican-majority state senate. Four republicans voted with 29 democrats to allow same sex couples to share in the responsibility and commitment of marriage.

Update: DADT passes final vote in the Senate with help of Senator Nelson. The bill is headed to President Obama for signature into law. Senator Johanns voted no.  Rep. Terry, Smith and Fortenberry also voted against the repeal of DADT.

Action: Send Senator Nelson "thank you" notes on Twitter or Facebook.  Send "shame on you" notes to Johanns, Terry, Smith and Fortenberry. Some Members of Congress turned active comments/posting off on their Facebook, so you have to reply to a post in order to be heard on their Facebook page. You can also leave message on their DC voicemail by calling the switchboard and asking to speak to your Senator or Representative 202-224-3121 they will patch you right through.

For gay soldiers and advocates of equality everywhere, this morning’s hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee was a landmark in the fight to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The committee heard from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, and other Defense Department officials on the Pentagon’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell study, which fully endorsed a repeal of the policy.  The report, released Tuesday, significantly builds momentum towards repealing the policy in the lame duck session.

Bold Nebraska would like to commend Sen. Ben Nelson for his moving remarks at the hearing this morning.  Nelson, who was a key vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee last Spring, made the following statements at the hearing:

“To me, the issue seems to be not whether to allow gays to serve in the military but whether to allow them to serve openly.  But permitting them to serve, but not openly, undermines the basic values of the military -- honesty, integrity and trust, and when that's undermined anywhere, it's undermined everywhere.  It also seems that our military is expected to say, ‘I don't want to lie, but you won't let me tell the truth.’  How do we square this circle?  I think there are those who legitimately are concerned that this will adversely affect readiness and national security, and yet we have the report that seems to be somewhat overwhelming in certain areas saying that it's time to change the law.  Can you help me understand how we move to something where it is now possible to tell the truth?”

While this is a week of turkey, allow me just a few minutes to draw your attention to duck.  Lame duck, that is.  While the new kids on the block have already arrived at Capitol Hill for their orientation, the 111th Congress has some unfinished business to take care of before saying “adios” in December.  The lame duck session, which began Monday, November 15th and is expected to last until mid-December, contains high-profile legislation, some of which has been in the works for over a decade. However, there has been a public push from the Right to refuse passage for any legislation in the session.