Gay Today: World

Pentagon Calls Gays 'Terrorists'
—Trains Raid Teams

Compiled By GayToday
A Wired Strategies Report

Only weeks after the brutal murder of gay soldier Barry Winchell in Kentucky, the Pentagon is again singling out gays – this time as terrorists.

The Washington Post reported Saturday (August 28) that National Guard units are being trained to prepare for a possible gay terrorist attack.

According to the Post, the Guard's Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection (RAID) teams are preparing for a variety of terrorist threats, including "the gay rights parade scenario" in which gay terrorists fill balloons with ricin, a powdered nerve agent.

"Think about it," fumes John Aravosis, of Wired Strategies, "On the heels of the military admitting they need more anti-gay harassment training – because their institutional hate is literally killing gay soldiers--we find out the troops are being told that gays are terrorists. It's no surprise gay soldiers are being harassed – the military has branded us as un-American."

And it's even more than ironic, says Aravosis, that the National Guard is using a pride parade as a possible threat. On July 24, an unknown homophobe launched a tear gas attack at a gay pride parade in San Diego.

"The Pentagon," says the Wired Strategies' director, "would do better spending our tax dollars defending our right to free assembly, instead of blaming us for the acts of intolerant bigots."

The Post piece also revealed that the military fears attacks by animal rights advocates. According to the Post, the Guard was also preparing for "the national fur convention scenario, in which animal rights activists let loose balloons laded with botulism germs."

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Aravosis told GayToday: "The only appropriate response to this scenario is 'how dare they.' How dare our military train its soldiers that specific classes of citizens are terrorists. It is this kind of intolerant stereotyping that leads to a much more dangerous scenario. Do the names of Barry Winchell, Alan Schindler, Matthew Shepard, Billy Jack Gaither, and so many many more ring a bell to anyone inside the Beltway?"