THE RISK OF 'GAY' ACTIVISM IN OUR SCHOOLS
By Linda Harvey
August5, 2001
NewsWithViews.comAre homosexual teachers more likely to seduce or sexually assault students than heterosexual teachers? Tradition over the centuries has contended that youth are always at risk when those who practice homosexuality are allowed close interaction with them. That belief is based on a reality that is still all too apparent.
Homosexual activists clam otherwise. When addressing schools and parents, they maintain that homosexuals are less likely to molest children than heterosexuals. Some recent events, however, indicate that their assertions are simply not ture.
First of all, there is a well-understood issue among all youth organizations and schools , that adults who are sexually interested in children and youth will seek out employment where children are easily accessible -- schools, youth groups, camps, Boy Scout troops and so on. So responsible youth organizations have traditionally been cautious in recruiting and hiring to screen out those who might pose a risk.
But the two major homosexual activist education groups aggressively lobbying our nation's schools have experienced embarrassing incidents in the past year that reveal a shady side to their idea of "safe" leaders.
In August 2000, the president of the Toledo chapter of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) who led an anti-Boy Scout rally there, turned out to be a convicted child molester. John Helmstreet, who admits to being a homosexual, had organized a protest in front of a Boy Scout council building. Helsmstreet confessed in 1992 to molesting a 10-year old boy. When asked if he thought the Scouts should exclude homosexuals, he did not respond. GLSEN was a co-sponsor of the protest.1 Helmstreet is still listed on the Toledo PFLAG web site as chapter chairman. That chapter meets ironically, in an Episcopal church.
A school social worker who was a leader of the Chicago chapter of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) was arrested last August in an Internet investigation. Dave P. Thomas of Chicago was charged with indecent solicitation of a child. The boy, who was identified as being between 13 and 16, had met with Thomas on many occasions for sex.2
What's amazing is how openly supportive the homosexual community is about sex with children. There are few attempts to mask this and in fact, it's frequently flaunted. The grand marshal of the 1999 "gay" pride parade in San Francisco was Harry Hay. Hay was one of the founders of the "gay rights" movement back in the 1950s and '60s. Hay has been openly supportive of the pedophile group NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love association, and marched in their parade in 1993.3
Which leads us to question what the real motivation is for the all-out assault by homosexuals on the Boy Scouts. Is it a simple matter of wanting what they construe as a "civil right" or is there another angle?
In November 1992, the NAMBLA newsletter published an open letter to the Boy Scouts which essentially called on the Scouts to "cease...discrimination of openly gay or lesbian persons in the appointment of scout masters and in...membership." The letter went on to state, "We share a common mission -- to bring a greater understanding and light and purpose to the young as they grow."4
NAMBLA has been implicated in another recent case involving a 10-year-old boy, Jeffrey Curley, in Boston. Two men have been charged in the horrific assault and death of the 10-year-old in October 1997. Materials from NAMBLA were found in the home of Charles Jaynes, one of the two men. The parents of the boy are suing NAMBLA for $10 million dollars, and demanding the disclosure of the names of all NAMBLA members. The ACLU, which is defending NAMBLA, has called the suit a "witch hunt." The judge has yet to rule on the case.5
So if there's no particular interest in sex with children among homosexuals, why do these disturbing facts keep popping up?
In Manchester, N.H., a 12-year-old Girl Scout was sexually molested by her 18-year-old female scout leader during a sleepover at a church last February. The young woman has admitted that she kissed the girl and offered to "help" her if she wanted to experience a sexual encounter with a woman.6
The Girls Scout organization has been defensive about its support of pro-homosexual school programs, including the new non-traditional family video called "That's a Family!" The national president, Connie Matsui, appeared at a press conference last December at the White House after a screening of the film, which gushes over families with children headed by lesbians and homosexual men. (We reported on this in our February-March-April 2001 issue). Yet angry callers to the national Girl Scout organization have been told that Matsui has made no commitments to support the film.7
The Girl Scouts have allowed lesbians to be leaders in the organization for a number of years. According to one source, about one third of the staff members at the national Girl Scout office are lesbians.8 The Girl Scouts are evidently not unique among youth organizations, however. Policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of "sexual orientation" have been enacted at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Camp Fire Girls, the National 4-H Council and the YMCA Indian Guides.9
The Girl Scout organization of South Jersey Pines owns a 490 acre camp in Newfield, N.J. where "Mountain Meadow Summer Camp" is being held. The camp offers a "feminist camping experience" for girls. The camp focuses on the 9 to 17 year old children of homosexual, single and "progressive" parents. The camp application asks campers if they are male, female or "other." The camp director is a lesbian who says she was a founding member of Lesbian Avengers in Chicago, a militant lesbian group.10
Child molestation is an everyday occurrence because of the increased access homosexuals have to our children. Former Scout leader and youth minister Christopher Reardon is currently being tried for molestation charges involving 19 boys in Middleton, Massachusetts.'' And a Bronx, N.Y. teacher who is HIV-positive has been charged with raping a 9-year-old student as well as repeatedly sexually abusing a second 8-year-old student. Both students were attacked at the school they attend and where Milton McFarlane teaches at PS 78 in the Williamsburg section of the Bronx. In 1998, McFarland had been investigated for accusations that he exposed himself to one student and unzipped the pants of another, but the case was dropped because the student stories were conflicting. McFarland was allowed to continue teaching.12
Isn't it time we realized the danger and protected our children? Professed homosexuals should not be allowed to teach or lead groups of youth. We should be wary of any supporters or practitioners of homosexuality who want access to our children.
Sources:
1. www.worldnetdaily.com, August 22, 2000
2. Chicago Sun-Times, August 31, 2000
3. Reported in Family Research Council's "Culture Facts," May 13, 1000
4. Nambla Bulletin, Vol. 13, No. 9, November 1992, as quoted by Abiding Truth Ministries, Citrus Heights, CA
5."ACLU terms NAMBLA suit a 'withc hunt,'" Boston Herald, July 18, 2001
6. Manchester Union-Leader, June 4, 2001
7. "Who's Telling the Truth About the Girl Scouts?" by Ed Vitigliano, www.agapepress.org, May 8, 2001
8. "Female Liberalism Pervades Girl Scouts, Says Ex-Scout," by Jason Pierce, www.cnsnews.com, July 17, 2001
9. "Go Ahead, Bury the Cookies," The Advocate, May 22, 222001
10. "Alternative Fun in the Sun," by Michael Betsch, www.cnsnews.com, July 3, 2001
11. "Trial Set to Open for Trusted Youth Minister, Scout Leader Accused of Molesting Boys," by Adam Gorlick, Associated Press, July 9, 2001
12. "Cops: HIV Teacher Raped Boy, 9,: by Murray Weiss, Ed Robinson, Carl Campanile, Maria Malave and fBill Sanderson, New York Post, May 3, 2001
© 2001 - Linda P. Harvey - All Rights Reserved
Linda P. Harvey is President of Choice For Truth, a project of Mission America, P.O. Box 21836, Columbus, OH, 432211-0836, (614) 442-7998. e-mail:missiona@ee.net websites: www.missionamerica.com and www.Choice4Truth.com