PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 7, 2004
For more information, contact:
Dr. A. Dean Byrd, 818.789.4440
Email:
nationalarth@yahoo.com
NARTH Concerned Over New Sexual Alliance
Encino, California -- The president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) expressed concern today over a newly-announced alliance between the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. "I am troubled that this new alliance signals an all-out assault on age of consent laws governing sexual behaviors between teenagers who believe they are homosexual," said NARTH President Joseph Nicolosi today. "If this alliance is successful in overturning state laws dealing with sex between minors, we will see a tragic increase in children with sexual dysfunctions. I am especially concerned about the threat this poses to sexually confused teens."
Dr. Nicolosi is reacting to news that the NGLTF has joined with the Woodhull Freedom Foundation to examine what these groups describe as "archaic" laws dealing with sex between teenagers as well as laws prohibiting public sex between consenting adults. Both groups are vowing to fight to overturn laws they believe violate personal sexual freedom. "These organizations are also vowing to fight laws dealing with public sex--such as encounters in public restrooms," said Nicolosi. "This effort does not bode well for those of us who believe that public restrooms should be places where we can safely take our children--not as places where gays can gather to engage in anonymous and potentially deadly sex acts."
Nicolosi expressed shock at this newly-announced effort by homosexuals and sexual freedom advocates. "The NGLTF and Woodhull Freedom Foundation are deliberately pushing the envelope on sexual behaviors that most Americans still consider to be abhorrent. Both sex with children and sex acts in public restrooms should be beyond the realm of discussion but not apparently for these groups."
Nicolosi noted that the Woodhull Freedom Foundation's web site calls for the "decriminalization of safe and consensual alternative sexual expression, including public sex and sex work [legalized prostitution]" and is also working to eliminate abstinence-only sex education in our nation's public schools.
Dr. Nicolosi is available for media interviews. Call 818.789.4440 to set up an interview.
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The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality was founded in 1992 and is composed of psychiatrists, psychoanalytically informed psychologists, certified social workers, and other behavioral scientists, as well as laymen in fields such as law, religion, and education.
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