Washington, D.C.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace this week said that allowing gays to serve openly in the military “would be condoning what I believe is immoral activity.” The comment, made during an interview with the Chicago Tribune, sparked an immediate outcry from gay-rights groups, which are pushing for the Pentagon to lift its “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military. C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, called Pace’s comments “outrageous, insensitive, and disrespectful” to the 65,000 gays and lesbians he says are serving in the military. After initially refusing to apologize, Pace acknowledged that he should have kept his “personal moral views” to himself.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic PartyTalking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach BoysFeature The musical giant passed away at 82
