THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

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The leading Democratic candidates for the presidency waffled in responding to the assertion by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that homosexual acts are 'immoral.' Meanwhile, when asked what message Pace's comment sent to gay troops in Iraq, a White House spokesman said the President appreciates the contributions of all servicemembers.

Meanwhile, in New York, activists took to the streets to protest the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell ban; Pace's comments; and the general issues of AIDS and national healthcare. ( See page 4, and more news and comments on pages 6-7. )

In a March 12 meeting with editors and reporters with the Chicago Tribune, General Pace said, 'I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts.' He did not frame his support for the anti-gay military policy known as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in the traditional terms of homosexuality being detrimental to unit cohesion.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's first public reaction to Pace's assertion of immorality came more than a day after it made headlines. It was the wishy-washy 'I am going to leave that to others to conclude.'

After much pressure from gay groups, Clinton's office issued another statement. 'I have heard from many of my friends in the gay community that my response yesterday to a question about homosexuality being immoral sounded evasive,' she said. 'I should have echoed my colleague Sen. John Warner's forcefully stating that homosexuality is not immoral because that is what I believe.'

In 'defending' the LGBT community against Pace's gratuitous attack, Clinton felt it necessary to wrap herself in the mantle of the Virginia Republican who formally chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee.

'Forty-eight hours later she is not able to say that the people in the room were not immoral. That worries me,' Alan Van Capelle told The New York Times. He is executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the leading LGBT political group in New York. He later professed himself comfortable with Clinton's revised position.

Sen. Barack Obama dodged the subject three times at a Washington appearance. After strenuous protests from his gay supporters, Obama's office then put out a statement chiding Pace, and ignoring the 'immorality' component. After more pressure from the community, a statement from Obama finally came out saying that he did 'not agree with General Pace that homosexuality is immoral.'

'I'm still in disbelief that anyone hesitates to defend us in the face of such abhorrent bigotry,' said Chicagoan Michael Bauer, a leading Democratic fundraiser within the LGBT and Jewish communities. 'We are not dealing with some political issue but with our legitimacy in society. That our friends have doubts is unbelievable to me.'

Bauer fired off an e-mail to high-ranking friends in the Obama campaign asking, 'Does Barack honestly think that Roger [ his long-time partner ] and I are immoral?' He has been even more troubled by the staff reaction that he is just causing trouble.

'I've long ago decided that I'd rather be respected than liked,' Bauer said. 'In the face of such abhorrent bigotry, we expected our political friends to immediately stand up and denounce Gen. Pace's comments.'

National Stonewall Democrats issued a statement of appreciation on the ultimate positions taken by Clinton and Obama. But the release also pointedly noted that it came only after the group 'initiated an internal effort to mobilize leaders and donors close to both senators to lobby the campaigns on this issue.'

WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE

White House Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett was asked what message Pace's comments sent to gay service members serving in Iraq. He replied, 'The President appreciates the sacrifice and service of every service member, and what they're doing on a daily basis to improve the situation.'

Steve Ralls was stunned. The spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) , the leading group working to repeal DADT, said, 'As far as I'm aware, it's the first time the Bush White House has said they appreciate the sacrifice of gay troops.

'In late February, after Congressman [ Marty ] Meehan re-introduced his repeal legislation, Tony Snow said 'We'll wait and see what Congress comes up with,' when asked if the President would support the bill. That wasn't a flat 'no,' and I had to read that transcript twice, too!' he said.

SLDN also released the latest of its annual reports on DADT. It showed that 612 service members were kicked out of the military under the policy during fiscal year 2006. That is down from 742 in 2005. The total number has ebbed each year since the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, when it was more than twice as large as today.

'The Pentagon's data shines a bright light on the hypocrisy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' said SLDN Executive Director C. Dixon Osburn. 'When military leaders need the talent, skills and qualifications of gay personnel, dismissals decline. The Pentagon's own data shows that during times of war, when unit cohesion is most important, fewer gay troops are dismissed. The ban on their service, and not their service itself, is what erodes cohesion most.'

Gary J. Gates, a senior research fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA, documented the full cost of DADT in a report released on March 19. From a survey of LGB veterans, he calculated that about 4,000 soldiers per year would have decided to stay in the service rather than get out at the end of their tour of duty.

'The military intends to add more than 18,000 troops each year for the next five years,' said Gates. The Pentagon could achieve one-sixth of that total by eliminating DADT and retaining more gay service members.

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