Gen. Peter Pace has done the country a favor, said Cynthia Tucker in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The nation's highest-ranking military officer found himself in hot water last week for saying that he considers homosexual behavior 'œimmoral,' and that he therefore supports preserving the 'œdon't ask, don't tell' policy, which allows gays to serve in the military only if they hide their sexuality. Pace's admission of his distaste for gays was, in a way, refreshing: He didn't bother with the usual military blather about how openly gay soldiers would undermine 'œdiscipline' or compromise 'œunit cohesion.' Instead, he said bluntly that he's against gays in the military because, well, he finds gays sinful. With the House now considering a bill to repeal 'œdon't ask, don't tell,' perhaps Pace's comments will finally lead to a 'œfrank discussion of the risks of allowing simple bigotry to dictate fitness for the armed forces.'
Does that include bigotry against Christians? said Debra Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle. For the record, I'm against 'œdon't ask, don't tell.' Since President Clinton introduced the policy in 1993, more than 10,000 valuable servicemen and women have been forced out—'œmost notably 322 linguists and 54 Arabic specialists'—just when we needed them most. But the men and women of our armed forces also 'œhave a right to their opinions.' The fact is that like many Americans, Gen. Pace was brought up in a religious tradition (Catholicism) that believes homosexuality is immoral. If someone asks him for his views on the subject, must he lie or fall into a shamed silence? If so, then what we have is a 'œde facto 'don't ask, don't tell' policy—but for traditional Catholics.'
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