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.
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