Bill Richardson,
the Democratic governor of New Mexico and 2008
presidential candidate, announced Thursday that he believes
"don't ask, don't tell" should be repealed. Responding
to Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Peter Pace's antigay
comments earlier this week, the onetime congressman
said he doesn't agree that homosexuality is immoral,
instead saying discrimination against gay people in the
U.S. military should end, the Associated Press
reports.
"I voted against
it when I served in Congress," Richardson told the
AP in Santa Fe, referring to the ban on openly gay
service members, signed into law by then-president
Bill Clinton in the 1990s. "People should not be
judged based on their sexual orientation. Throughout
my entire career I have fought for equal rights and against
discrimination of any kind."
Richardson added
that Pace's remarks were "unfortunate" and called on
President Bush to condemn them. In his interview with the AP
he also pointed to his own pro-gay record: his support
of civil unions and his signing into law a
state measure that provides civil rights
protections for gays and lesbians.
Two of his competitors for the Democratic
presidential nod, senators Hillary Clinton and Barack
Obama, also disavowed Pace's comment's Thursday,
according to the AP, finally saying that they disagree that
homosexuality is immoral after avoiding the issue earlier in
the week. (The Advocate)
