General Won't Apologize For Gays Comment

(CBS/AP)  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, 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."

That didn't sit well with gay veterans like Eric Alva, who was visited by his Commander in Chief after losing a leg in Iraq, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

"I think it was an insensitive and disrespectful remark to the thousands of men and women who are currently serving in the armed forces actually following the guidelines of 'don't ask, don't tell,' where they don't express their open orientation because they're not allowed to," Alva said.

No one knows how many gays are quietly serving in uniform, although one unofficial estimate puts it at 65,000, Martin reports. Whatever the number, Brian Fricke was one of them. He's a Marine who served nine months in al Anbar.

"He's saying you can still serve and die for your country, but don't tell if you're gay, because then you're dishonorable; you're immoral," Fricke said.

Pace did not offer an apology, something that had been demanded by gay rights groups.

"It's bad enough that he thinks that. It's even worse that he would be foolish enough to say that publicly," Arlene Isaacsen of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus told CBS Radio station WBZ-AM. "It is crass prejudice, crass bigotry and brazen ignorance, and it's disgraceful to think that someone in his position would think in these terms."

"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.

In an interview Monday with the Chicago Tribune, Pace said he supports the policy, which became law in 1994 and prohibits commanders from asking about a person's sexual orientation.

---

Listen to the Chicago Tribune interview.

---

"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace said in the audio recording of the interview posted on the Tribune's Web site. "I do not believe that the armed forces of the United States are well served by saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way."

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.

CBS' Susan Roberts reports that the White House agrees that Pace's comments were personal — and that it probably would have been best if he kept them to himself.

Rep. Martin Meehan, who has introduced legislation to repeal the current policy, criticized Pace's comments.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page »

[liselle3]

I will never cease to be amazed at the hypocrisy exhibited by some of the general public when it comes to *** and lesbians, whether the topic is *** in the military, allowing the gay population to marry, etc.
Gen. Peter Pace feels that *** are inherently immoral... how is it that the heterosexual population gets away with a ~50% divorce rate and unrestrained pre-marital *** when the bible states that both of these are a sin. Is it that once you marry, the sin has resolved itself, and the individual has been absolved? Anything short of being gay is tolerated, forgiven and overlooked by but those most vocal on this topic.
Throughout history, the public forum has taken it upon itself to play God, with the powers of judgment on what acceptable moral standards are -what group is unacceptable in society, what color, creed, religion is tolerable and acceptable %u2013 and history has shown us the countless atrocities inflicted upon humans by people who within the realm of %u201Cacceptable%u201D.

[sethbenoni]

morals and courage. how refreshing!!

[guysdigdirt]

Simplemind2,
You too are a zealot, give it up and get a life. Your opinions are your opinions, but not correct in any way shape or form. If you do not like what Bush or Pace or your other friends have done get elected and show us how it is done correctly.

[guysdigdirt]

firststate,
your arguements reveal you as a zealot, you have given up all compitent reasoning. crawl back in your hole.

[anopinion1]

I'm sure even God will frown on that kind of heinous behavior - gang rape an under-aged girl and then cold-blooded murdered
her, her parents and her young sibling.
POSTED BY SIMPLEMIND2

my post messed up but anyway....

would you rather have a gay platoon and then have to read about the same story and an under-aged boy instead.....i think not

[anopinion1]

I'm sure even God will frown on that kind of heinous behavior - gang rape an under-aged girl and then cold-blooded murdered
her, her parents and her young sibling.
POSTED BY SIMPLEMIND2

[anopinion1]

I'm sure even God will frown on that kind of heinous behavior - gang rape an under-aged girl and then cold-blooded murdered
her, her parents and her young sibling.
POSTED BY SIMPLEMIND2

[homespunlady]

djayc1:
Established military policy is "don't ask, don't tell" if Pace had stuck to that there wouldn't be 97 pages of nonsense and probably a LOT of lost recruits.
The military also does NOT look favorably on political acts or statements in uniform which this is bordering on. The controversy it stirred up makes the reason very evident.
Feeling a DRAFT yet?

[homespunlady]

97 pages and counting. yawn.
Osama, Jim Jones and that Waco guy have used religious zealotry to recruit.
America has in the past used freedom of choice and Patriotism.
If some of the more lucid of you believe that this line of arguement is helpful for retention or recruitment PLEASE SIGN UP we need to help the overburdened military members handling real problems. Like recovering from wounds at Walter-Reed.

[firststate]

Pace should perform his duties as a military commander first. The record of his accomplishments in Iraq combined with a year of training would qualify him to be a parking enforcement officer. Our nation's great military leaders from the past must be spinning in their graves that this a$$ kissing political hack is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. In less time than we've been in Iraq, we defeated both the Germans and Japanese fighting on multiple fronts. If this bunch had been in charge of the military in WWII, we'd either still be fighting or using another language.

Pace seems to be the embodiment of the principle bearing his given name. He has risen to the level of his incompetence. He's learned from laurel and hardy in the white house that a distraction can postpone embarrassment. The most effective distraction is one that is controversial, divisive and can work our radical Christian extremists into one of their famous frenzies. Pace's moral pronouncement on homosexuality is a winner.

What it doesn't do is provide real plans and strategies for our brave men and women who are stuck in Iraq while their top commanders spend their time coming up with new labels for doing the same things that didn't work yesterday, last week or last year. Pace and the other members of the Joint Chiefs should concentrate on handling the military situation. After we are out of Iraq, if they feel the need they can return to their interest in our soldier's *** lives. It's a matter of priorities.