The Palm Center Responds

Date: September 27, 2007
Press Contact: Nathaniel Frank, (917) 842-5195

Washington, DC - Aaron Belkin, director of the Michael D. Palm Center at
the University of California at Santa Barbara, today issued the
following statement in response to outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman Peter Pace's comment before the Senate Appropriations Committee
that he supports a "change" to the current ban on open gays in the
military.

General Pace also said today that homosexual "activity" is "counter to
God's law," a remark that echoed similar comments he made in March of
this year. He later asserted that he was expressing only a personal
view.

"General Pace said yesterday that he 'would be very willing and able and
supportive of any description, whatever change to 'don't ask, don't
tell' would continue to allow the homosexual community to contribute to
the nation.' Although it is unclear what General Pace meant by changing
the policy to 'continue' to let gays serve, this is the first time the
top uniformed American has signaled support for changing the current
policy.

"The Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman couldn't help repeating demoralizing
remarks about America's gay and lesbian service members. His comment
that homosexuality is 'not right' clearly illustrates that the ban on
open gays is not about what's good for the military, but about using the
military to enforce the intolerant moralisms of a minority of Americans.
The majority of Americans recognizes that federal law does not exist to
endorse what some people believe is 'God's law'. That's why most
Americans support a policy of equality that treats people the same no
matter what their sexual orientation.

"Many will view General Pace's comments this week as outright prejudice
against gays, as he does not seek to ban the countless straight service
members who, according to research, practice forms of sodomy and
fornication, both condemned in the Bible. It's an enormous double
standard."

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The Michael D. Palm Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Sexual
Minorities in the Military, is a research institute at the University of
California, Santa Barbara. The Center uses rigorous social science to
inform public discussions of controversial social issues, enabling
policy outcomes to be informed more by evidence than by emotion. Its
data-driven approach is premised on the notion that the public makes
wise choices on social issues when high-quality information is
available. For more information, visit www.palmcenter.org.