Minister of Education Reports  

Big Brothers and Sisters

of America

Now Dangerous to Children

NEW YORK -- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America on Thursday told its 490 affiliates to give openly gay and lesbian volunteers an equal chance to serve as one-on-one mentors to children.

            The 98-year old youth organization that has been devoted to helping children from single parent homes is defiant in the face of those who have expressed concern about this change of policy. Consequently, some have called for corporate backers to halt donations.

         The organization's president, Judy Vredenburgh said, "Were getting incredible, positive support for the action we took." We can imagine where that incredible positive support is coming from. It certainly is not coming from people who have been traumatized as a child by some pervert's sexual assault.

         Actually this pronouncement is a kind of coming out of the closet for the organization which has for 25 years had a policy that said its non-discriminatory policy covered sexual orientation. Making the provision mandatory will probably mean an active recruitment of potential pedophile volunteers. In any case affiliate organizations which used to reject such people can no longer do so.

         Needless to say some people are outraged. Donald Wildman, chairman of the American Family Association, said outright that BBSA "will become a magnet for homosexuals who exploit opportunities to engage young impressionable children with their unhealthy lifestyle." Children who are without a good father image in their lives are among the most vulnerable for having their sexuality perverted by unhealthy influences including outright molestation.

         Focus on the Family said its founder James Dobson will delete favorable references to BBSA in future editions of his book "Bringing Up Boys," but this writer wonders why it should ever have been there considering the policy of the home base for the past 25 years? This program has been yearly matching about 220,000 children with mentors and we expect the number of abuse cases to rise in the coming years if they are not covered up. Cover up is the game in a lot of things going on today.

This report was adapted from:

www.detroitfreepress.com/news/nw/bro16_20020816.htm

August 16, 2002 BY DAVID CRARY ASSOCIATED PRESS