WE'D LIKE TO spotlight an organization that, some say, has already gotten far too much attention: NAMBLA. In case there's a person in the US who doesn't know that acronym, it's the North American Man/Boy Love Association, a group that's devoted to eliminating age-of-consent laws. But NAMBLA isn't just fighting for the 'right' to fuck little boys. Anyone who sees them that way is either deliberately misinterpreting their goals, or simply not thinking. You were a little boy once (well, most of you were), and it's dollars to donuts you were a horny little boy, with little or no knowledge of where to go for sex, what to do, or even if you were sane. Your parents, if they told you anything at all about sex, probably told you that it was bad, and sex with men was worse than murder. (And the Kinseys wondered why so many gay men ended up with psychological problems!) When I was twelve years old, I was desperate for any contact with gay men-I'd've joined NAMBLA in a second, and delighted in all the attention I would've gotten-because all I was getting from the county library was gay history (Mary Renault), theory (The Gay Mystitique), and 'lit' (Patricia N. Warren & Gore Vidal). pretty frustrating, for a boy who wants to get out there and learn what fucking is actually like. NAMBLA is fighting to change that-to give little boys and girls on this continent the same fair start on their sexuality that they get in Amsterdam. You wouldn't think that would be controversial among gay people. We, more than anyone, should know that people are sexual at all ages, not just from eighteen to sixty, and any law which tries to change that is absurd and inhumane. Obvious, right? Okay, it seems obvious to toe. It didn't to the International Lesbian & Gay Association, who decided that being represented at the UN was more essential than legalizing our sex lives.

So NAMBLA got thrown to the wolves, because ILGA couldn't see any reason to 'take the heat.' Well guess what, guys (& gals): if you're not interested in standing up for sexual freedom-if, as a group, you've decided that Major Funding is more important than upholding the tenets that started the Stonewall Riots-then I don't want you 'representing' me at the UN.

Stonewall 25, the group organizing this year's march & festival in New York City, has taken a similar attitude towards age-of-consent laws. Specifically, they've adopted a set of guidelines carefully crafted to ban NAMBLA from marching in 'their' parade: no participating group may promote "the repeal of age of consent laws without adequate protection of youth." They want ideological purity. (Sounds like the Ancient Order of Hibernians, with their paranoia about Gay Irishmen in the St. Patrick's Day parade.) In response, a number of concerned men & women have formed Spirit Of Stonewall, to remind everyone what goals those original activists had in mind when they formed the old Gay Activists Alliance (which, ironically, would be banned from marching in Stonewall 25, since they specifically advocated the abolition of age-of-consent laws). A call has been sent out for all those who are interested in a truly open dialogue-free speech and free association-to march with SOS. The STEAM contingent will be there. I invite all of you to join us. We won't be the most popular group-I expect to be hissed and boo'ed by all the politically-correct lesbians along the route, and a few gay men too-but we'll probably be the most controversial.

Yes, gay groups are entering the mainstream. The Republican party has begun acknowledging the existence of Log Cabin Clubs, and Bill Clinton sends letters to gay groups when he's desperate for support. And now, for a price, Congress is even prepared to (reluctantly) endorse our 'representation' at the UN. The cost? Apparently, complete emasculation. I don't think it's worth it. NAMBLA is one of the few organizations that has consistently refused to compromise its standards for inclusion in The Big Tent. Long may they live.