Pentagon Survey On Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Leaked, Clay Aiken And Reed Kelly Are No More, Today Show Commentators Gay Marriage Showdown, And Andrew Cuomo Has Never Been A Supporter Of Gay Rights So What Would Change Now?

Officials from the Palm Center, a gay rights research department of the University of California, released a copy of the Pentagon survey sent to 400,000 service members Wednesday as a part of study on repealing the American military ban on openly gay men and women serving in all branches of the armed forces. The 32-page, over 100 question survey (a PDF copy is included in the link) is being roundly criticised by the nonpartisan gay advocacy group Servicemembers United, who suggested that gay and lesbian military personal who received the survey not participate for fear of being out and subsequently discharged under the still authorized policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” is calling the questions “flawed and biased” including an overwhelming focus on the potential negative aspects of repeal and little or no inclusion of the potential positive aspects of repeal or the negative aspects of the current policy. Servicemembers United is also condemning “the repeated and unusual suggestion that a co-worker or leader might need to ‘discuss’ appropriate behaviour and conduct with gay and lesbian troops.”

Apparently Clay Aiken and Reed Kelly have ended their relationship. According to a change on Reed’s MySpace page, he is now listed as single, changed as of Wednesday.

Happenstance created a kind of perfect storm Thursday, a federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act which defines marriage as that only existing between one man and one woman was in violation of the Constitution, while the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation announced that it had persuaded producers at NBC to revise the rules for the Today Show’s Modern Wedding Contest to include same sex couples. The response at the show’s website has been, um, overwhelming; divided neatly between those commentators who invoke Biblical references and those who reference equal rights and a world where acceptance and inclusivity are paramount.

I previously posted that Andrew Cuomo, running for governor of New York, said that if elected it would be a “priority” for him to pass legislation legalizing gay marriage, but a new profile strongly suggests that his commitment to advancing gay rights is clearly weak.