Jackson Free Press

Here's the Washington Post's gloss on it:

In December 2004, The Sunshine Project, a watchdog group based in Austin, Tex., and Hamburg, Germany, that opposes biological weapons, uncovered a "U.S. military proposal to create a hormone bomb that could purportedly turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals and make them more interested in sex than fighting." ...

The proposal came from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, which requested $7.5 million to develop a so-called "gay-bomb."

It's unclear how far the proposal got in the military's approval process, but as you might imagine, gay and lesbian groups are outraged, as they should be:

The fact that The United States Air Force asked for $7.5 million for a project that assumes a) sexual orientation can be altered through chemicals and b) homosexuals are more interested in sex than duty is certainly worthy of a second life in the blogosphere.

Oh, and if that isn't wacky enough for you, there was a second part to the proposal:

In addition to a "gay bomb" the proposal also mentions using chemicals which could make bees angry so that enemy forces would be attacked not only by our troops but also swarms of stinging insects.

Previous Commentsshow

Pretty old news... But, a hormone weapon, IMO, would be a great method for infiltration. Let's assume 99% of the men are straight. When a hormone weapon is released, those men will face a chemical response that triggers arousal to men. It's a simple biochemical response caused by the agent. Now, those straight men will still be straight but will have chemically triggered arousal to those around them (read: other men). This would inevitably lead to chaos for that particular group and they'd probably beat themselves senseless... It's not that they'd "turn gay" but that they'd become aroused by members of the same sex which would basically lead to a "mindf--k." Our troops could walk right in while they dealt with their own homophobia and issues. Similar methods have been discussed including the use of LSD. It's a manner of disrupting the opposing force without alot of deaths. Personally, I'm not insulted by the idea that a chemical reaction could arouse someone... Fragrances do it all the time. It does give new meaning to "make love, not war" though... ;-)

kaust

Jun 13 2007

This one is old, old, old! I'm surprised they admit it; I wouldn't admit I'd authorised such a silly idea. :)

Ironghost

Jun 13 2007

Yes, it's old. It's an oldie but a goodie, as they say. They didn't really admit it. It slipped out in a sunshine request. Good point, Knol, about the use of LSD. The weaponization of either agent would violate the Chemical Weapons Convention. The U.S. was supposed to have disposed of its massive stockpiles of chemical weapons by 2007, but now it looks like we won't be finished until 2014. The Pentagon says 2023. Of course, those stockpiles are a lot nastier than a gay bomb.

Brian C Johnson

Jun 14 2007

Knol said, "Our troops could walk right in while they dealt with their own homophobia and issues." Either that, or there would be a huge orgy. Either way, they wouldn't care what we do. :D

Lady Havoc

Jun 14 2007

Speaking of oldies but goodies... ;-) Ah... the Intratube.... gotta luv'it

pikersam

Jun 14 2007

Is there anything these internets can't do?

Brian C Johnson

Jun 14 2007