Pentagon: Gay Not A Disorder But Don't Join Military genre: Gaylingual & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

The Pentagon issued a statement on Wednesday in which it retracted the statement from a Pentagon document that homosexuality is a mental disorder. At the same time, the Pentagon sought to make clear that the clarification in no way altered the position that openly gay individuals are not permitted in the military. Read the full article here.

After a 1996 Pentagon document placing homosexuality among a list of "certain mental disorders" came to light this month, the American Psychiatric Association and a handful of lawmakers asked the Defense Department to change its view.

The Pentagon said in a statement: "Homosexuality should not have been characterized as a mental disorder in an appendix of a procedural instruction. A clarification will be issued over the next few days."

"Notwithstanding its inclusion, we find no practical impact since that appendix simply listed factors that do not constitute a physical disability, and homosexuality of course does not," the Pentagon added.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said the rate of troops discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy had fallen by about 40 percent since the beginning of U.S. military operations following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

"There is no good reason for keeping the ban in place and there's every good reason for repealing it," Ralls said. "It's discriminatory and robbing the military of talented men and women who want to serve. It's unnecessary. We've seen bans lifted among our closest allies. In Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans are serving alongside openly gay British troops."

Daniel DiRito | June 28, 2006 | 4:25 PM
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