Gay-rights groups criticize Pentagon on dismissals (sharp reduction since the beginning of wars)

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http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1429396820070314

Gay-rights groups criticize Pentagon on dismissals

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gay-rights groups accused the U.S. military of hypocrisy on Wednesday after it disclosed a sharp reduction in the dismissal of gays since the beginning of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Pentagon said it dismissed 612 people for homosexuality in its most recent fiscal year, fewer than half the 1,227 dismissed in fiscal 2001.

The figures were released on Tuesday, after the top military officer, U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, drew criticism for describing homosexual acts as immoral, a statement he later characterized as a personal belief.

Gay-rights groups said the numbers show the hypocrisy of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which forbids commanders from asking the sexual orientation of service members but requires gays and lesbians to keep their sexual orientation private.

"It is interesting to watch rates of discharge go down when the military needs people the most," said Bob Kearney, a senior public policy advocate for Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights group.