Pedophile Rights? Austin Texas City Council Member Likens Pedophilia To Homosexuality In Wake Of Legalized Gay Marriage

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage throughout the land, Austin, Texas City Council Member Don Zimmerman took to Twitter Friday night to make comparisons between same-sex marriages and pedophilia, not surprisingly inspiring some emotional responses.

According to the Statesman, a person identified as Austin Council Member Zimmerman was participating in a Facebook conversation touching on the subject of gay marriage when he told another in the conversation to replace “gay” with “pedophile.” Doing so, surmised Zimmerman would lead to the conclusion that “there is no such thing as pedophilia, only (inter-generational) love.”

Of course, the popular argument against those who compare gay-marriage and gay rights with pedophilia and pedophile rights, is that a child can’t consent to a sexual relationship with an adult, and therefore there’s no comparison. Same-sex relationships between legally consenting adults have nothing in common at all with a pedophile having a relationship with an underage minor that can’t legally consent to the relationship with the pedophile anyway. Case closed.

So, pedophile rights? Don’t be ridiculous.

But the Northern Colorado Gazette reports that pedophiles and pedophile groups are indeed fighting for their alleged rights, based on the same arguments, and seeking the same rights and status, that the Gay Rights Community successfully used to win their fight.

In fact, the point of view voiced by many pedophiles and pedophile groups, not to mention Austin City Council Member Zimmerman, is that the sexual orientation status pedophiles seek is no different than that of heterosexuals or homosexuals.

And the psychiatric community, along with many in the U.S. government, apparently seem to agree, advocating for a re-definition of pedophilia consistent with how homosexuality was redefined in 1973.

In a claim that might shock many, in 1998 the American Psychiatric Association reported that “the ‘negative potential” of adult sex with children was “overstated” and that “the vast majority of both men and women reported no negative sexual effects from childhood sexual abuse experiences.”

The Federal Government has also already granted “protected status” for pedophilia and pedophiles, along with the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act listing “sexual orientation” as a “protected class.”

After Republicans tried to amend this act by saying “pedophilia is not covered as an orientation,” Democrats shut the amendment down, Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fl) making the case that no American should live in fear because of who they are, including pedophiles.

“This bill addresses our resolve to end violence based on prejudice and to guarantee that all Americans, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability or all of these ‘philias’ and fetishes and ‘isms’ that were put forward need not live in fear because of who they are. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this rule.”

The bill was also reportedly praised by the White House.

“At root, this isn’t just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another — whether we embrace our differences rather than allowing them to become a source of animus.”

In the end, while pro-gay-rights advocates call any comparisons between gay rights and pedophile rights fear-mongering, the pedophile community does appear to be fighting for their alleged rights.

Along with other psychologists and others in the University Community, Harvard Health Publications wrote, all the way back in July, 2010, that, “Pedophilia is a sexual orientation and unlikely to change. Treatment aims to enable someone to resist acting on his sexual urges.”

Do you think pedophile rights have anything to do with gay rights or gay marriage?

[Image via Google Images]