MIKÄ ON NAMBLA?

The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is a New York City and San Francisco-based unincorporated organization that opposes the use of age as the sole criterion for deciding whether minors can legally engage in sexual relations. NAMBLA defends what it asserts to be the right of minors to explore their sexuality more freely. It has resolved to " end the oppression of men and boys who have freely chosen mutually consenting relationships," and calls for " the adoption of laws that both protect children from unwanted sexual experiences and at the same time leave them free to determine the content of their own sexual experiences." [1] NAMBLA' s webpage states that: " NAMBLA does not provide encouragement, referrals or assistance for people seeking sexual contacts" and that it does not " engage in any activities that violate the law [or] advocate that anyone else should [violate the law]." [2]



NAMBLA holds an annual gathering in New York City and monthly meetings around the country.[3] In the early 1980s, NAMBLA was reported to have had over 300 members, and was supported by such noted figures as Allen Ginsberg.[4] Since then, the organization has kept membership data private, but an undercover FBI investigation in 1995 discovered that there were 1,100 people on the rolls.[4] It is the largest organization in the umbrella group IPCE[5] (formerly " International Pedophile and Child Emancipation" ).[6]



Since 1995, public criticism and law enforcement infiltration have heavily impaired the organization. Its national headquarters now consists of little more than a private mail box service in San Francisco, and inquiries are rarely responded to; it has essentially ceased to exist. Some reports state that the group no longer has regular national meetings and few local monthly meetings.[7]