Two homosexual advocacy groups are criticizing the decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired General Peter Pace. He'll be honored on Thursday.'Honoring General Pace with the country's highest civilian award is outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops currently serving on active duty in the armed forces,' said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), in a news release on Wednesday. 'Our men and women in uniform are making tremendous sacrifices for our country and are looking for the president to recognize leaders who offer them praise and vision, not condemnation and scorn,' Sarvis stated.
'What do you get for calling LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Americans immoral and supporting the continued firing of gay Americans?' asked Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays (PFLAG) in the group's online blog last Thursday. 'If you're retired General Peter Pace, you get a Presidential Medal of Freedom,' the organization said.