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to Attack Anti-Bias Policy Rep. Tancredo Spearheads Slandering of Big Brothers/Sisters Vicious Colorado Republican Plays on Long-standing Biases Human Rights Campaign
"A person's sexual orientation has nothing to do with their ability to provide positive mentoring to children in need. Attacks like this serve only to fuel misunderstanding and prejudice against the gay community," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. The letter attacking the BBBSA non-discrimination policy has also been signed by Reps. John Hostettler, R-Indiana.; Ernest Istook, R-Oklahoma.; Brian Kerns, R-Indiana.; Joseph Pitts, R-Pennsylvania.; Jim Ryun, R-Kansas.; Bob Schaffer, R-Colorado.; Chris Smith, R-New.Jersey.; and John Sullivan, R-Oklahoma. In addition to the attack on the BBBSA policy, the letter attempts to link sexual orientation with pedophilia. The American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Child Psychiatrists and the Child Welfare League of America all have policy statements stating there is no correlation between homosexuality and child abuse. "The new policy ignores the psychological research and common-sense. As a general rule of thumb, Big Brothers doesn't match up adult men with teenage girls. Obviously that would set up a risky situation that could lead to sexual abuse," wrote Tancredo, who went on to list anecdotal accounts of gay abuse in BBBSA. "In spite of Tancredo's assertions, the overwhelming evidence from the medical community has said time and again that sexual orientation is not a factor in abuse. "To infer otherwise is to ignore the scientific proof. Likewise, sexual orientation does not play a role in a person's ability to mentor at-risk youth," said Stachelberg. "HRC continues to support Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America for their recognition and acceptance of gay and lesbian mentors." |
Rep. Thomas Tancredo: Attacking Big Brothers and Sisters of America's anti-discriminiation policy