On March 5, the state’s high court will hear oral arguments on three lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. Within 90 days, the court will issue its ruling on whether Prop 8 was enacted improperly as a constitutional revision to revoke the right of same-sex couples to marry. The court will also determine if 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted between June and November of 2008 will remain valid.

Kenneth Starr, who led the campaign to impeach President Bill Clinton, filed a legal brief in December — on behalf of the “Yes on 8” campaign — that would annul these marriages.

In response, the Courage Campaign asked its members to send in photographs of themselves with signs that said, “Please don’t divorce us” or “please don’t divorce our friends/co-workers.” Jacobs said they were inundated with over 1,500 photos. Upon the suggestion of a blogger, the photos and videos were set to the music of Regina Spektor’s hit song “Fidelity.” With her permission and that of EMI Records and Warner Brothers, producer/director Shaun Kadlec produced the new “Fidelity” video for the Courage Campaign.

Since its launch on February 5, “Fidelity” has garnered more than 1,000,000 views via Vimeo.com (over 925,000 views) and YouTube.com (over 130,000 views), easily making it the most viewed online political ad in California’s history. According to the Los Angeles Times, the No on 8 campaign’s video of Ellen DeGeneres asking viewers to reject the measure was one of the most-watched online ads of any ballot proposition campaign, scoring 103,000 views in the two weeks from its launch on October 15, 2008.

The Courage Campaign has taken a lead role in the fight to repeal Proposition 8, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Californians to sign petitions, organize local media events and share their stories. Since its passage, the group has worked to organize progressives in an effort to repeal the measure, including “Camp Courage” — a series of community-organizing training events modeled on Camp Obama. After launching in Los Angeles on January 25, the second Camp Courage will be held in Fresno March 7-8.

Jacobs added that the success of “Fidelity” would not have been possible without the help of online social networking. The Courage Campaign asked its members to post “Fidelity” on their own blogs and to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

“Several activists and bloggers helped us drive this message to a larger audience,” said Jacobs. “This led to even greater support for our letter to the State Supreme Court.”

“While Ken Starr is busy filing briefs to destroy and undermine families, people need to see the faces of those who are impacted and imagine the hundreds of thousands more that will be affected if the Court allows the initiative process to be used to take rights away from a minority,” added Jacobs. “Prop 8 is dangerous for all of California. If a simple vote of the majority can remove one protected class from the equal protection clause of the constitution, precedent will be set that the same fate can befall any minority.”

Jacobs said internet ads are low-cost but high-reach, which makes them an effective way to deliver a message. “Fidelity” was produced for less than $5,000, meaning it cost less than one-fifth of a penny per view.

During the 2008 campaign cycle, the Pew Research Center found 35 percent of Americans said they’d watched online political videos — three times more than during the 2004 presidential election (before YouTube launched). About one-in-six Americans (16%) have sent or received emails with friends and family regarding candidates and the campaign, and 14% have received email messages from political groups or organizations about the campaign.

“Fidelity” and the letter to the California Supreme Court can be viewed at:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/Divorce