New attack on gay soldiers

New attack on gay soldiers

The head of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has labelled Australian gay soldiers destructive to unit cohesion and -œmateship.
ACL managing director, retired Brigadier Jim Wallace, asked if Australia was prepared to sacrifice effectiveness for political correctness by allowing gay men to serve in combat.
-œNow if you introduce into that 10 men a love or lust relationship, you immediately damage the phenomenon of mateship, Wallace told the American AP.
-œThere is some discrimination that has to be done to maintain the effectiveness of society or the effectiveness of fighting units.
He said gay men should be barred from combat roles, like the current ban on women serving on the front-line.  -œDo you want an army which is already likely to be outnumbered wherever it fights to be fighting at its most effective or its least effective?
Wallace is on leave and was unable to be reached for clarification of his comments.
ACL chief of staff Lyle Shelton confirmed for Southern Star that Wallace’s views were those of the Christian lobby.
The Australian Defence Force lifted its ban on gay and lesbian members in 1992.
A Defence Gay and Lesbian Information Service (DEFGLIS) spokesperson said they were -œdisappointed by Wallace’s comments.
-œSexual orientation has absolutely no relation to ability, and Wallace is out of touch with the inclusive and harmonious environment in which our members serve very effectively.
-œThe suggestion of introducing discrimination based on sexual orientation or the idea that sexual orientation in any way impacts the effectivess of our members and their units is most offensive and unhelpful.
A spokesman said the ADF supports diversity and opportunities for career progression were based on merit, ability, performance and potential.

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One response to “New attack on gay soldiers”

  1. Perhaps the Australian Christian Lobby suffers from terminal stupidity. The empty rhetoric of the radical religious right differs little across religions. My god is bigger / better / faster / stronger than your god … Death to the infidel is not the unique property of the Taliban or Muslim extremists. Take away their money … no funding for organisations that discriminate on the basis of sexual preferences or sexual orientation. There is not one single piece of evidence or research that supports the hypotheses extended by the ACL or the radical religious right. The violence and hate campaigns in the name of god are NOT ‘christian’ values.