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The campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are in sync not only on the geopolitical importance of Selma, Ala., but also on the issue of whether homosexuality is moral or not. This afternoon, the Obama campaign released the following statement: “As the New York Times reported today, I do not agree with General Pace that homosexuality is immoral. Attempts to divide people like this have consumed too much of our politics over the past six years.”

"You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you," said Leon Trotsky. And that is surely true of the culture war. Before an editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, not only endorsed presidential policy by which active homosexuals are discharged from the service, he declared that policy to be right morally. "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immorality. I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral...

Asked if she believed homosexuality was immoral, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton declined to answer the question in a television interview this morning and said it was for “others to conclude.” General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a recent interview that he personally believed homosexuality was immoral and that this view was a factor in his opposition to gays serving openly in the military. Mrs. Clinton, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, supports allowing gays to serve, which would amount to a change in her husband’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy. She has...

Fort Eustis drill sergeant faces charges of molesting trainees Associated Press © March 4, 2007 Last updated: 12:50 PM HAMPTON -- A drill sergeant at Fort Eustis is accused of forcing a male trainee to dress as Superman and submit to sexual acts, according to court documents. Army Staff Sgt. Edmundo F. Estrada, 35, of Hampton, also faces charges of indecent assault, having an inappropriate relationship with a trainee, and cruelty and maltreatment of subordinates, Fort Eustis spokeswoman Karla Gonzalez said. Estrada was arraigned in January and is scheduled to appear April 17 in a military court. He remains on...

It's a tried and true tactic of interest groups seeking to influence public opinion -- and legislative policy -- on a controversial issue. Find the most sympathetic individual case you can, and get the media to focus on that, rather than on the broaders merits of the issue. A prime example of the phenomenon was on display today at Good Morning America. Congressman Marty Meehan [D-MA] has introduced legislation that would repeal the Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell policy, with the result that gays would be able to serve openly in the military. Hearings are scheduled to begin soon. ABC senior national correspondent...

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon document classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder, decades after mental health experts abandoned that position. The document outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members with physical disabilities, and in a section on defects lists homosexuality alongside mental retardation and personality disorders. Critics said the reference underscores the Pentagon's failing policies on gays, and adds to a culture that has created uncertainty and insecurity around the treatment of homosexual service members, leading to anti-gay harassment. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jeremy M. Martin said the policy document is under review. The Pentagon has a "don't ask,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays, then immediately release audio tapes of the proceeding. The court has made same-day releases of audio tapes in some major cases since December 2000, when justices heard Florida ballot recount appeals that determined the outcome of the presidential election. On Wednesday, the same-day release of audio tapes for a case involving abortion rights marked the first time Chief Justice John Roberts allowed the practice. Television cameras are barred from the court and reporters are not allowed to use tape recorders....

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a limited ruling, the highest U.S. military court said that under certain circumstances, the military's ban on sodomy was constitutional, the New York Times said on Tuesday. The Monday ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces was the first involving the military since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas struck down state sodomy laws, the newspaper said. Civil rights groups might look to test whether the Lawrence decision applies generally to military laws against consensual sodomy, it said. "The court ducked the issues in this case," leaving...

Same-sex marriage has become a defining presidential campaign issue. Surprisingly, though, a related and equally emotional matter - gays in the military - has not surfaced at all. Yet. Given the vast differences between John Kerry, who favors opening military service to practicing homosexuals, and George W. Bush who backs Bill Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, the current silence is unlikely to last, nor should it. Moreover, unlike marriage, which has been historically a state matter, the armed forces are solely a federal question. Their composition is a presidential and congressional decision that requires a policy choice between competing...