Using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles
have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a
sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals.
Critics of the homosexual lifestyle have long claimed that once it
became acceptable to identify homosexuality as simply an “alternative
lifestyle” or sexual orientation, logically nothing would be off limits.
“Gay” advocates have taken offense at such a position insisting this
would never happen. However, psychiatrists are now beginning to advocate
redefining pedophilia in the same way homosexuality was
redefined several years ago.
In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association declassified
homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. A group of
psychiatrists with B4U-Act recently held a symposium proposing a new
definition of pedophilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Health Disorders of the APA.
B4U-Act calls pedophiles “minor-attracted people.” The organization’s website
states its purpose is to, “help mental health professionals learn more
about attraction to minors and to consider the effects of stereotyping,
stigma and fear.”
In 1998 The APA issued a report claiming “that the ‘negative
potential’ of adult sex with children was ‘overstated’ and that ‘the
vast majority of both men and women reported no negative sexual effects
from childhood sexual abuse experiences.”
Pedophilia has already been granted protected status by the Federal
Government. The Matthew Shephard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes
Prevention Act lists “sexual orientation” as a protected class; however,
it does not define the term.
Republicans attempted to add an amendment specifying that “pedophilia
is not covered as an orientation;” however, the amendment was defeated
by Democrats. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fl) stated that all alternative
sexual lifestyles should be protected under the law. “This bill
addresses our resolve to end violence based on prejudice and to
guarantee that all Americans, regardless of race, color, religion,
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or
disability or all of these ‘philias’ and fetishes and ‘isms’ that were
put forward need not live in fear because of who they are. I urge my
colleagues to vote in favor of this rule.”
The White House praised the bill saying, “At root, this isn’t just
about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about
whether we value one another – whether we embrace our differences
rather than allowing them to become a source of animus.”
Earlier this year two psychologists in Canada declared that
pedophilia is a sexual orientation just like homosexuality or
heterosexuality.
Van Gijseghem, psychologist and retired professor of the University
of Montreal, told members of Parliament, “Pedophiles are not simply
people who commit a small offense from time to time but rather are
grappling with what is equivalent to a sexual orientation just like
another individual may be grappling with heterosexuality or even
homosexuality.”
He went on to say, “True pedophiles have an exclusive preference for
children, which is the same as having a sexual orientation. You cannot
change this person’s sexual orientation. He may, however, remain
abstinent.”
When asked if he should be comparing pedophiles to homosexuals, Van
Gijseghem replied, “If, for instance, you were living in a society where
heterosexuality is proscribed or prohibited and you were told that you
had to get therapy to change your sexual orientation, you would probably
say that that is slightly crazy. In other words, you would not accept
that at all. I use this analogy to say that, yes indeed, pedophiles do
not change their sexual orientation.”
Dr. Quinsey, professor emeritus of psychology at Queen’s University
in Kingston, Ontario, agreed with Van Gijseghem. Quinsey said
pedophiles’ sexual interests prefer children and, “There is no evidence
that this sort of preference can be changed through treatment or through
anything else.”
In July, 2010 Harvard health Publications said, “Pedophilia is a
sexual orientation and unlikely to change. Treatment aims to enable
someone to resist acting on his sexual urges.”
Linda Harvey, of Mission America, said the push for pedophiles to
have equal rights will become more and more common as LGBT groups
continue to assert themselves. “It’s all part of a plan to introduce sex
to children at younger and younger ages; to convince them that normal
friendship is actually a sexual attraction.”
Milton Diamond, a University of Hawaii professor and director of the
Pacific Center for Sex and Society, stated that child pornography could
be beneficial to society because, “Potential sex offenders use child
pornography as a substitute for sex against children.”
Diamond is a distinguished lecturer for the Institute for the
Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. The IASHS openly
advocated for the repeal of the Revolutionary war ban on homosexuals
serving in the military.
The IASHS lists, on its website, a list of “basic sexual rights” that
includes “the right to engage in sexual acts or activities of any kind
whatsoever, providing they do not involve nonconsensual acts, violence,
constraint, coercion or fraud.” Another right is to, “be free of
persecution, condemnation, discrimination, or societal intervention in
private sexual behavior” and “the freedom of any sexual thought, fantasy
or desire.” The organization also says that no one should be
“disadvantaged because of age.”
Sex offender laws protecting children have been challenged in several
states including California, Georgia and Iowa. Sex offenders claim the
laws prohibiting them from living near schools or parks are unfair
because it penalizes them for life.
