Think Progress

Group demands Gen. Pace apologize.

By Nico on Mar 13th, 2007 at 10:15 am

Group demands Gen. Pace apologize.»

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network on Gen. Pace’s statement that homosexuality is “immoral“: “Our men and women in uniform make tremendous sacrifices for our country, and deserve General Pace’s praise, not his condemnation. As a Marine and a military leader, General Pace knows that prejudice should not dictate policy. It is inappropriate for the Chairman to condemn those who serve our country because of his own personal bias. He should immediately apologize for his remarks.” More from the AP.

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46 Responses to “Group demands Gen. Pace apologize.”


  1. oldtree Says:

    mr. general, you are fired. we have no need for your services any longer. I suggest a banana republic for your type of “military”


  2. Daryll Says:

    I thank the Lord for Military Officers like Gen. Pace. General Pace, thank you for maintaining/voicing your beliefs. You will be marvelously blessed by God.


  3. RUCerious Says:

    Hand picked, he is.
    More like nose picked, way to go chymp, now put a damn muzzle on the venerable general before he gets you in more hot water.


  4. Patrick1 Says:

    As we saw in the 90s a PC military gets American civilians killed. Good for General Pace to speak the truth to the reprobates.


  5. Raven Says:

    Re: post # 5 …As opposed to the current politically incorrect (and illegal) military campaign of the present, in which many more Americans civilians and soldiers are being killed and wounded…

    I am counting the nearly equal number of “corporate security contractors” (read mercenaries) currently in the employ of the United States as civilians


  6. Patrick1 West Virginia Values Says:

    Seems these incompetent generals get enough Americans killed by their terrible tactics at war, you know…not having a defined goal and all will tend to do that. Perhaps this general should refocus on winning this war, saving American lives, and stop trying to dictate morality.

    The best way to protect American citizens might just be to stop occupying irrelevant countries, inciting them to hate our culture even more, as we fall into a self-fulfilling prophecy.


  7. Raven Says:

    (amplification)…
    there is an estimated 120,000 mercenaries in Iraq, and an estimated 700 of them have died. Figures for the wounded security contractors are unknown to me.


  8. Patrick1 Says:

    Now you moonbats are making things up. “illegal war”, “inciting them to hate our culture”. That is BS of course and I assume it is because you can’t address the truth that this brave American hero has spoken to power.


  9. Raven Says:

    “… brave American hero has spoken for power..”


  10. Patrick1 Pig-Focker Says:

    Maybe you’re too dense to realize that when we (even accidently) kill a few Iraqi innocents, the starving little brothers we leave behind will, without a doubt, hate our guts. We claim we’re not occupying them, yet that’s exactly what we’re doing. But I can see why your congitive abilities are rather lacking with all that inbreeding there Captain West Virginia Values.


  11. jayjaybear Says:

    –That is BS of course and I assume it is because you can’t address the truth that this brave American hero has spoken to power.–

    Bet you said the same thing about Bull Conner in the 50s and 60s…


  12. Democrat Soldier Says:

    It’s interesting that Brittain hasn’t had a problem with gays serving openly in the military.

    It’s interesting that Israel hasn’t had a problem with gays serving openly in the military.

    I guess the US just isn’t up to the standards of the British and Israel in waking up to the fact that gay people are just as good at being service members as straights.

    Poor sad, little America.


  13. Roger_Roger Says:

    He has to apoligize for his personal beliefs based on his religious upbringing? OMG free speech down the drain.


  14. Patrick1 Says:

    I don’t equate sodomy with race and neither does the general.

    The idea that “they” hate us because of Iraq is shown by the big hole in downtown Manhatten to be BS.


  15. Democrat Soldier Says:

    If only he had included Republican in his list of “immorality”. . .

    Oh, wait! He said that people who sleep with other peoples wives are immoral! Newt, he’s talking about you, buddy!


  16. Texas Juice Says:

    How is BEING gay immoral? Maybe he is counting sex out of wedlock as immoral but BEING gay? Does this mean being STRAIGHT is immoral. Is he referring to sex acts, which is a private affair, or is he reffering to ones STATE of BEING? Folks behaviour is not determined by sexual preference. Lots of straight folk in the military are having “gay” sex right now. Sota like prison I guess…

    Texas Juice


  17. Roger Roger Loves Loves Pigs Pigs Says:

    He doesn’t have to apologize for his beliefs …but he should have kept them to himself. We only want to here about how he’s going to win this war…we don’t want or care about his opinion on gays. But since he’s clearly loosing this war, he’d rather distract everyone with talk about gays (Republicunts favorite thing to talk about).


  18. Pete Bogs Says:

    immoral, eh? kind of like dropping white sulphur on people? torturing prisoners? raping and shooting civis?


  19. ForTruth Says:

    Pace has said a handful of reasonable things compared to a crapload of very unreasonable things. He pretty much a lockstepper.


  20. anonymous Says:

    Many different religions view many different things as immoral. So what? What does that have to do with anything? Some religions view drinking alcohol and dancing as immoral. Is General Pace going to suggest we keep drinkers and dancers out of the military for their immoral behavior? MOst religions view sex outside of marriage as immoral. Does Pace expect all members of the military to remain celibate since they are either unmarried or do not have their spouses with them while they are in Iraq? Some religions view masterbation as immoral. Is Pace planning to do bedchecks every night to make sure no one is whacking off?


  21. ForTruth Says:

    Daryll loves the gay sex threads. It’s his excuse to think about gay sex when he declares to be so against it. Yeah, he wants to be “against” it alright.


  22. ForTruth Says:

    These guys like Pace and Daryll like to focus on one of many immoral behaviors, its their excuse to think about the gay sex.


  23. Zooey Says:

    How did I know I’d find Daryll here?


  24. R Says:

    For a General in the U.S. military to say something so utterly offensive concerning gay people is beyond a simple apology. His career should come to a screeching halt and his name made synomynous with bigotry and prejudice. “Keep up the Pace”, should be defined as: gays are inferior to heterosexuals and will not be tolerated. Who the f* is this a-hole anyway, that his opinion counts as anything important? He can’t even run a decent war campaign.


  25. Democrat Soldier Says:

    Am I upset over Gen. Pace’s remarks? Not really.

    Why not? In about 20-30 years, people like Gen. Pace are going to be dead and gone. His kind (sanctimonious bloviating pick&choose moralizers) are a dying breed, thank God for that!

    Gen. Pace only speaks for a very small (and, thank God, dwindling) minority of people in the military. Most of the people currently serving in the military have learned that gay people can (and do) honorable serve in the military with no problems. It’s the narrow-minded holier-than-thou in-your-face-with-their-opinion people that are the loudest to complain about anything that doesn’t fit in their exclusive midset that gets the attention.

    I’ll be glad when people like Gen. Pace are pushing up the daisies. Maybe then they’ll actually contribute something helpful, rahter than force their opinions onto others.


  26. Jay Randal Says:

    NO General Pace must immediately resign. Enough of having Bush creeps giving phony apologies for the vile things they spew. Pace and the entire membership of the Bush Regime must be forced to resign.


  27. PatrioticLiberalChristian(PLC) Says:

    Apologize for what?

    Comment by Patrick1

    For this: claiming that the military should “not tolerate” homosexuality just as it rejects “military members who sleep with other military members’ wives.” He is injecting his personal religious beliefs into his position as a military leader on the decision making process of who “should” be allowed to serve. There is no comparison with adultery, which is a direct harm done to one person by another. There is no SECULAR reason to deny any social right to homosexuals.


  28. drtomaso Says:

    #14- “He has to apoligize for his personal beliefs based on his religious upbringing? OMG free speech down the drain.”

    No one is saying this man’s rights to free thought and free speech should be violated. Free speech doesnt mean consequence-free speech however. Sometimes you lose your job over it.

    Part of this man’s job is to represent the US military publically. He has voiced an objectionable opinion in that capacity. If the SecDef, Prez, et al object to having this personal opinion represented by one of their employees, he loses his job- end of story. Much the same way that if you or I went around bad mouthing our boss in public, we would find ourselves out of work.

    Free Speech != Consequenceless Speech


  29. drtomaso Says:

    Pace should not resign. He is the chief military advisor to the President. The President should make it clear that this man’s personal opinion is not the view of his administration by firing him.

    Oh wait, maybe this *is* the view of the administration…..


  30. Patrick1 Says:

    The thing that is moral about it is keeping the ranks free of unacceptable behavior. The military is not a bridge club or softball league, nor even a business. It is a machine designed to defend and destroy, and its requirements are dictated by that mission.

    (As an aside, the purpose of the military is not to “protect our freedoms”. That’s the citizen’s job.)

    Even a temporary condition such as illness or excess weight can disqualify a person for military service. Homosexuality is an immutable trait, we are told. It happens to be a trait that the military concludes is outside the acceptable range for service.

    Not everyone gets to serve. It isn’t about “equality”, but accomplishing the mission without unnecessary distractions and tinkering by social engineers.


  31. Zooey Says:

    Daryll,

    Whatever you do, don’t think about gay sex.


  32. Solitaire Says:

    You decide which action God may consider immoral behavior:

    Making love with someone who wants to make love with you
    versus……
    Arranging for the slaughter of hundreds/thousands of people you never met, civilians and combatants alike.

    For me it’s a no-brainer. This fool might leave the morality questions to others a bit more qualified to make such determinations.


  33. Shawn Says:

    Does anybody else smell a Bush Administration tactic here? D.I.S.T.R.A.C.T.I.O.N.

    I mean, lets see the complete transcript. How did these topics come up? I’m assuming a roundtable (out of nowhere) with the (conservative) Chicago Tribune had mostly to do with Iraq….right?

    I’m not feeling this one. Pace to me has always seemed like #1 he will follow and do what hes told, no MATTER what the orders are and #2 hes pretty thoughtful….these comments do not seem like his own.


  34. PatrioticLiberalChristian(PLC) Says:

    Even a temporary condition such as illness or excess weight can disqualify a person for military service. Homosexuality is an immutable trait, we are told. It happens to be a trait that the military concludes is outside the acceptable range for service.

    Not everyone gets to serve. It isn’t about “equality”, but accomplishing the mission without unnecessary distractions and tinkering by social engineers.

    Comment by Patrick1

    No one has ever shown that “homosexuality” somehow interferes directly with the military mission and, therefore, the exclusion of homosexuals from the military and this post are both pure drivel. Exclusion of homosexuals from any part of society is “tinkering by social engineers” of a particular religious stripe, devoid of any secular reason for such discrimination. As some either-or thinkers are wont to say - “end of story”.


  35. ckerst Says:

    Comment by Patrick1… What makes the general think he has the right to decide what is moral and what is immoral? Some people would say that dedicating your life to the art of killing other people is immoral. If he wants to debate morals he should do it in church on Sunday, the rest of the week belongs to what is legal and illegal.


  36. Democrat Soldier Says:

    #30 - “Not everyone gets to serve. It isn’t about “equality”, but accomplishing the mission without unnecessary distractions and tinkering by social engineers.” Comment by Patrick1 — March 13, 2007 @ 12:03 pm

    Ok, Patrick1, how do you justify keeping a ban that the majority of serving military think should be rescinded? How do you justify keeping a ban that other countries have successfully ended?

    All the arguments used in support of the ban are almost the same as the ones used in the 40’s to support banning black from serving. At the time, they claimed that white service members would be uncomfortable serving with blacks and that morale would suffer and all manner of horrible things would happen if blacks were allowed to serve.

    Let me guess, Patrick1, you would support the ban on a racially integrated service had you lived in the 40’s, right?


  37. Think Progress » Pelosi: ‘We Don’t Need Moral Judgment From The Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs’ Says:

    […] Senior aides to Pace said today that he “won’t apologize for calling homosexuality immoral” despite calls by advocacy groups. […]


  38. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    Not everyone gets to serve. It isn’t about “equality”, but accomplishing the mission without unnecessary distractions and tinkering by social engineers. Comment by Patrick1 — March 13, 2007 @ 12:03 pm

    We agree. That’s why ’social-engineering’ religious nuts like Pace, and you shouldn’t be serving. You distract from soldiers getting their job done, with all of your homophobia. The people with the apparently ‘immutable trait’ that makes them unsuitable for service are homophobes like yourself! Gay people prove every day they are capable, and suited to serve. Homophobes like yourself prove every day you are incompetent and unworthy of service.

    That’s reality - not your ‘religious social engineering’ - nutjob.


  39. dian larkin Says:

    It’s immoral to have been born gay? WRONG!

    It’s immoral to continue wars against the voices of “by the prople for the people” government.

    It’s wrong to enact laws like “The Patriot Act” to get around that pesky Consitution and to over-extend the reach of the Executive Office.

    It’s wrong to cut funding to PBS — the last remaining free press in this nation.

    It’s wrong to lie to start and maintain wars and it’s wrong to steal elections.

    It’s wrong to explout other nations and peoples (I personaly demand to see a photo of Bush in a sugar cane field — INSIDE the hell of an ACTUAL sugar cane field not standing on the hill up at the big house — any treaty with Brazil requiring the production of sugar cane should have ensured minimum standards of health, safety and wages for the workers whose blood we will be driving our cars on).

    It’s wrong to kill people. It’s wrong to “out” your enemies and it’s wrong to disappaer and torture people.

    It’s NOT wrong to have or to express the sexuality God sent you to earth with.

    It is however, immoral to judge others, line up (as if you, in fact, were God) sinners and non-sinners, and to withhold rights from certain groups. The withholding right bit is particularly galling in a country built on equality for all citizens.

    I am not personaly gay, I am just a big supporter of the Constitution and of God.

    Thank you, Dian Larkin


  40. Roger_Roger Says:

    Is it not allowed to interject your own personal beliefs into your job? Is it possible not to? Honestly, that seems flat inpossible to demand that people not use their morals and personal views while on the job. It is funny to try and think of a bunch of people brainless working like that though. Very computerized indeed.


  41. ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus Says:

    Is it not allowed to interject your own personal beliefs into your job? Is it possible not to? Comment by Roger_Roger — March 13, 2007 @ 5:56 pm

    Not if it prevents you from being able to do your job. This is why we don’t have Amish soldiers - dum bass.

    If your *beliefs* prevent you from doing your job, or being *qualified* for that job - then you shouldn’t hold that job. Whether you’re a pharmacist that won’t sell prescribed medication, or a bigot that shouldn’t be commanding troops, or a blogger that’s too st*pid to qualify to post on a progressive blog. You’re just as unsuited to be here, as that *sshole is to be there. But you’re both too st*pid to know it!

    Honestly, that seems flat inpossible to demand that people not use their morals and personal views while on the job. Comment by Roger_Roger — March 13, 2007 @ 5:56 pm

    So it’s OK for you, if a gang banger is allowed to be a police officer? After all, you don’t want to prevent them from having the job because of their personal views and morals - right?

    It is funny to try and think of a bunch of people brainless working like that though. Very computerized indeed. Comment by Roger_Roger — March 13, 2007 @ 5:56 pm

    Thing about yourself, and brainless people is exactly what you get! You’re one st*pid old c*nt - are you girlie-man?


  42. JPark Says:

    Is it not allowed to interject your own personal beliefs into your job?

    Well, moron, since they cannot legally criticize the administration during active duty I would think they shouldn’t be allowed to voice their other beliefs.


  43. Raymond Funamoto Says:

    Pace WILL APOLOGIZE WHEN CHIMPya, Cheney and Rove CALL HIM INTO THE oval office AND THREATEN TO MAKE HIM PLAY LEAPFROG WITH THEM–WITH HIS PANTS DOWN AROUND HIS ANKLES, THAT IS!!!!!


  44. students needs help Says:

    University of Chicago has invited General Pace as a Keynote Speaker at their Graduate School of Business (GSB) Management Conference. The student there are working very hard to try to stop it from happening…. please go here :
    http://www.petitiononline.com/PaceUofC/petition.html
    to sign the petition “Keep General Peter Pace’s Bigotry Off Our Campus”

    Thank you very much


  45. Timothy Stewart-Winter Says:

    Please keep updated on our campaign at the U of C! We are trying very hard to keep Pace away!

    Sign our petition:
    http://unaskpace.googlepages.com



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