NY congressman's 'flippant' pro-homosexual remarks questioned

by Chad Groening
February 13, 2007

(OneNewsNow.com) - - A conservative military watchdog says Congressman Gary Ackerman showed complete disrespect to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a recent hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Democrat Gary Ackerman made flippant jokes about the military's ban on homosexuals serving in the military.

During Secretary Rice's testimony about the military's ban on homosexuals serving in the military, New York Democrat Ackerman jokingly suggested that the Bush administration may fear a "platoon of lesbians" more than terrorists in Baghdad, given the military's policy banning homosexuals from the military.

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness (CMR), says the congressman's "flippant attitude" toward Rice was "somewhat insulting" and very inappropriate. "Perhaps he is unaware [that] the law actually says homosexuals are not eligible to be in the military," she explains of the law that was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. "I don't think anybody should look on this as an incident that is impressive -- it's just the opposite."

During the hearing, Ackerman joked that the State Department could hire dozens of former Arabic and Farsi translators who were fired from the Defense Language Institute (DLI) after authorities learned they were homosexuals. Apparently, says Donnelly, Ackerman didn't understand the ban extends to those DLI students as well.

"I asked this question of the Department of the Army [earlier]," shares the CMR spokeswoman: "Why were they expending resources of the Defense Language Institute to train individuals who are not eligible to be in the military?"

Donnelly says while reasonable people can disagree on policy, Ackerman's rhetoric and flippancy is unjustified.