John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay, editors of the liberal outlet AMERICAblog, have launched a "Don't Ask, Don't Give" campaign urging a "pause" on donations to major Democratic groups until lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues are addressed at the federal level.

The campaign demands the enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the end of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. AMERICAblog reports co-sponsorship by Daily Kos along with several other liberal and gay media outlets.

The effort's supporters hope that by pausing donations to blue groups, including the Democratic National Committee, Organizing for America, and the Obama campaign, then Washington might quicken its pace on gay-rights priorities.

On some level, holding back donations is one of few avenues of recourse for LGBT rights advocates unsatisfied with the federal attention to their issues.  And AMERICAblog is a hefty Democratic donor: It says it raised $50,000 for then presidential-candidate Barack Obama. But the effectiveness of donation pauses remains in question. For such a strategy to succeed, the campaign would need "a whole bunch of people committed to not donating," says Jason Snyder, an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management.

Donation boycotts hinge on high support levels, especially when it comes to impacting large groups, like the Democrats, who have many donation sources, Snyder added. In politics, where you have "a large number of very diffuse people who are low-stakes donors," withholding cash to exert pressure is far less effective."