GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE December 20, 1996

Pedophilia, again

The following was sent to John Lanigan, of WMJI-FM in Cleveland:

Dear Mr. Lanigan:

COMMUNITY FORUM

THE OPEN PRAIRIE by Joe Noover

QUEER

FETUS

WITH:

MIX

PAT ROBINSTORK THE RIGHTEOUS BIRD

by Hoover &

You OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED!

AND NOW WE DON OUR "GAY APPAREL,

FA,EA,LA

FA, LA,LA

COULD BE MONOPOLIZED BY A FEW FOLKS TO CHANGE IT'S MEANING TO SOMETHING SICK AND TWISTED!

RUININ' A GOOD, FINE ENGLISH

WORD LIKE GAY. IT IS A REAL PITY THAT A WORD THAT MEANT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL & JOYOUS...

YOU MEAN LIKE THE WORD "CHRISTIAN"?

SQUAAK!

IF YOU WEREN'T THE UNBORN I'D SQUASH YA!

I usually listen to your show on my way to work in the morning and generally enjoy it. On Wednesday, December 11, however, you made a comment that I feel has to be addressed. You were reporting on the fact that the San Francisco branch of the Boy Scouts would no longer inquire into the sexual orientation of scout leaders. I think that that's as it should be, since ones' sexual orientation is no one's business. What really set me off was the comment you made about it being improper for a gay man to be a scout leader because he could be predatory toward the boys in his charge.

John, you don't really believe that, do you? You are once again confusing homosexuality with pedophilia. They are not the same thing any more than heterosexuality and pedophilia are the same. There are some people who prey on children sexually, but to claim that any man who is attracted to men must automatically be attracted to boys is a lie.

I presume that you are heterosexual. Does this mean that you are attracted to little girls? I'm sure that you would be insulted if you were accused of such a thing. Using your reasoning, all male coaches of girls basketball, softball, and soccer teams should be removed immediately, since they may prey on the girls sexually.

From time to time we do hear about people who go after children for sexual purposes. Those kinds of people should be removed and imprisoned. What do you

make of the case of Dr. Nancy Marks, the [Cleveland] school principal who preferred young boys for sex and misused her position of trust? Because of her crime, should all female teachers and administrators now be removed from contact with boys? I'm sure you'd agree that that reaction would be ridiculous.

John, I enjoy your show and hope to continue to listen. However, I hope that you'll reconsider your position on this question. I personally know many gay teachers, ministers, and priests who deal with young people every day in their jobs with absolutely nothing improper occurring. And yes, there are many good gay scout leaders too.

Ron Gray Cleveland

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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Volume 12, Issue 13

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