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Top general: Homosexuality is immoral
 It doesn't sound like Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be supporting any changes to the Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military."I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace, the president's top military adviser, said during an interview with the Chicago Tribune. "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way. As an individual, I would not want [acceptance of gay behavior] to be our policy, just like I would not want it to be our policy that if we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else's wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior," Pace said. Pace expresses regret over gay remark  The Pentagon's top general expressed regret Tuesday that he called homosexuality immoral, a remark that drew a harsh condemnation from members of Congress and gay advocacy groups. In a newspaper interview Monday, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had likened homosexual acts to adultery and said the military should not condone it by allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces. In a statement Tuesday, he said he should have focused more in the interview on the Defense Department policy about gays and "less on my personal moral views."He did not offer an apology, something that had been demanded by gay rights groups. "General Pace's comments are outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serving in our armed forces," the advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said in a statement on its Web site. The group, which has represented some of the thousands dismissed from the military for their sexual orientation, demanded an apology. Pace's senior staff members said earlier that the general was expressing his personal opinion and did not intend to apologize. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak on the record. Rep. Martin Meehan, who has introduced legislation to repeal the current policy, criticized Pace's comments. "General Pace's statements aren't in line with either the majority of the public or the military," said the Massachusetts Democrat. "He needs to recognize that support for overturning (the policy) is strong and growing" and that the military is "turning away good troops to enforce a costly policy of discrimination." Posted by: Fred 2007-03-14 |
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