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USA: Pentagon sought to build

Tue 12 Jun 2007 In: International News

The U.S. military sought to create a hormone bomb that could purportedly turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals and make them more interested in sex than fighting, a report confirms. Pentagon officials told KPIX-TV in San Francisco on Friday that military leaders had considered, and then subsequently rejected, building the so-called ‘gay bomb’. Edward Hammond, of Berkeley's Sunshine Project, had used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the proposal from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. As part of a military effort to develop non-lethal weapons, the proposal suggested, "One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior." The documents show the Air Force lab asked for $7.5 million to develop such a chemical weapon. "The Ohio Air Force lab proposed that a bomb be developed that contained a chemical that would cause enemy soldiers to become gay, and to have their units break down because all their soldiers became irresistibly attractive to one another," Hammond said after reviewing the documents. "The notion was that a chemical that would probably be pleasant in the human body in low quantities could be identified, and by virtue of either breathing or having their skin exposed to this chemical, the notion was that soldiers would become gay," explained Hammond. The Pentagon told KPIX-TV that the proposal was made by the Air Force in 1994. "The Department of Defense is committed to identifying, researching and developing non-lethal weapons that will support our men and women in uniform," said a DOD spokesperson, who indicated that the "gay bomb" idea was quickly dismissed. Gay community leaders in California said Friday that they found the notion of a "gay bomb" both offensive and almost laughable at the same time. "Throughout history we have had so many brave men and women who are gay and lesbian serving the military with distinction," said Geoff Kors of Equality California. "So, it's just offensive that they think by turning people gay that the other military would be incapable of doing their job. And it’s absurd because there's so much medical data that shows that sexual orientation is immutable and cannot be changed."   Related links: http://cbs3.com/topstories/topstories_story_162114001.html     Ref: CBS News (m)

Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff

First published: Tuesday, 12th June 2007 - 12:00pm

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