Gay rights counter-movement

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History

In the western world, during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s, homosexuality became less taboo and sodomy laws were revised in many countries. This was due to, in part, the actions of the gay rights movement. Many pedophilia advocates used this movement as a forum to publicize their views on aspects of pedophilia, such as their views on the ability of children to consent to sexual relationships. For a time, this piggyback effect manifested through advertisements clearly targeted at "boylovers", or even articles defending pedophilia in some gay media outlets.

In the 1980s, awareness of child sexual abuse rose, leading gay rights groups to distance themselves from those advocating pedophilia (e.g. NAMBLA). Since then, they have repeatedly stated that they find child sexual abuse abhorrent and immoral, and relationships between the two camps are invisible if not non-existent.

Recruitment

An oft-levelled accusation is that homosexuals use paedophilia to "recruit" new "members", implying that homosexuals can somehow alter sexual orientation, which is something that mainstream science has rejected. A common slogan is "Homosexuals cannot reproduce — so they must recruit" or its variants.

Anita Bryant

On June 7, 1977, Anita Bryant led a campaign called Save Our Children. This campaign was fed by homophobia, a fear that non-heterosexuals could alter sexuality in children, she moved to repeal an ordinance that had forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in matters of housing and employment. The resulted was a repeal of the county's Civil Rights Ordinance by an overwhelming margin of 69% to 31%. Soon after, legislation was passed outlawing adoption by non-heterosexual persons in Florida.

Dade County later reversed Bryant's influence in 1998 by passing an anti-discrimination ordinance. The drastic effects that Bryant had once predicted would follow the passage of an anti-discrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation never came to pass. The statute forbidding adoptions by non-heterosexual persons in Florida, however, remains law.

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America excludes non-heterosexual troop leaders, stating that "an avowed homosexual is not a role model for the values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law".

Public Perception

In 1970, a national survey in that year found that more than 70% of respondents agreed with the assertions that "Homosexuals are dangerous as teachers or youth leaders because they try to get sexually involved with children" or that "Homosexuals try to play sexually with children if they cannot get an adult partner."

However, public perception has changed since then. Gallup polls have found that increasing number of Americans would allow gay people to be elementary school teachers. For example, the proportion was 61% in 2003, compared to 27% in 1977.

In another poll conducted in 1999, the belief that most gay men are likely to molest or abuse children was endorsed by only 19% of heterosexual men and 10% of heterosexual women. Even fewer – 9% of men and 6% of women – regarded most lesbians as child molesters.

See also

• NAMBLA – The North American Man Boy Love Association.
• AG Pädo – German pedophilia group.
• Vereniging MARTIJN – Dutch pedophilia group.
• "Is homosexuality to blame for the child sexual abuse crisis now plaguing the Catholic Church?: Assumptions persist, but studies say gays are no more likely than heterosexuals to molest kids", Marilyn Elias, USA Today, 16 July 2002.

References

• link The History of Child Abuse from The Journal of Psychohistory 25 (3) Winter 1998
• "Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation", article from the psychology department at UC Davis