NAMBLA
The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is an organization working for men that love boys. It provides services such as a prisoners' program (which organizes visits, correspondence, and news for the benefit of boylovers in prison) and publishes The Nambla Bulletin. The organization is currently developing "Coming out" guides for boylovers.
History
NAMBLA had its beginnings in the 1970s during the height of the Sexual Revolution. It was at first central in the nascent gay political-activism community. The first Gay Pride parades in New York City featured boylove-themed entries. After the Anita Bryant episodes of the 1970s NAMBLA became gradually less accepted by the leadership of the larger gay movement. By 1994, the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the Nambla entry in the NYC Gay Pride parade was met with catcalls and derision by some observers, though not by all: some of the men and teenaged boys who marched that year were greeted with hugs and appreciation by a few of the onlookers. Note that this was the time that the same-gender oriented community became split. Many organizations such as NAMBLA and PROJECT TRUTH were no longer able to use the word " GAY ". Banned from the Pride Days and the community centres as well as the Gay Anarchists and other sympathetic and likewise scorned groups; once so an important part of the early GAY movement. When Gay meant same-gender oriented. This split was a result of the International Lesbian and Gay Association's attempt to gain greater acceptance within the United Nations - which failed -. Also the threats of the United States to withhold U.N. dues in retaliation towards perceived Anti-American groups. NAMBLA was counted amongst these groups.
During the first couple of years after the founding of Free Spirits, NAMBLA leadership provided some mentoring and advice to FSC members and referred the FSC to its first regular legal counselor.
Bill Andriette and Roy Radow are two of the more well-known leaders of NAMBLA during the first few years of the 21st century. Andriette writes a popular column in the gay tourist magazine, "The Guide", frequently addressing topics of interest to teen-boy lovers.
Teenager bias
NAMBLA is popularly viewed as an organization "of pedophiles" and "for pedophiles". But the leadership and membership of NAMBLA tend to be skewed towards those who are primarily or exclusively interested in relationships with teenaged boys (which may be sexual or non-sexual) which is classified as ephebophilia, than in love of prepubescent boys, which is pedophilia. Ephebophilic relationships are legal in many jurisdictions around the world, while (sexually expressed) pedophilic relationships are currently legal in very few jurisdictions - this due to the influence of the U.S. New laws have only fairly recently been instituted in most of the world criminalizing "intergenerational sexual activity" involving prepubescents. Formerly, in many countries only "child rape" laws existed, and these laws applied to forced/coerced sexual activity involving adult men and female prepubescent children.
Rejection by the Gay movement
The gay movement has been accused of having links to NAMBLA, especially by right-wing Christians, although the majority of gay rights organizations reject all these claims. In the early 1990s, the International Lesbian and Gay Association had its UN ECOSOC consultative NGO status withdrawn after it was revealed it had links to NAMBLA. ILGA then expelled NAMBLA from the organization, but still has not been able to get back consultative status. A small minority of the gay movement opposed ILGA's action as a witchhunt.
Blackmail of the ILGA by the US Congress
The US Congress threatened to stop UN dues payments if the UN gave consultative status to any groups who defended pedophilia -- this was under the Helms amendment to the 1994-1995 Foreign Relations Authorization Act Fiscal Year 1994/1995 (Public Law 103-236) which stated in section 101(g):
(g) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the funds authorized to be appropriated for `Contributions for International Organizations' shall be reduced in the amount of $118,875,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994 and 1995, and for each year thereafter, unless the President certifies to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate that no United States agency or United Nations affiliated agency grants any official status, accreditation, or recognition to any organization which promotes, condones, or seeks the legalization of pedophilia, or which includes as a subsidiary or member any such organization.'
