North American Man-Boy Love Association
The North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is a US-based organization of pedophiles which claims that sexual intercourse between grown men and boys is often beneficial for the boys and should be legal. Some convicted child molesters may have been involved in the organization, for example Rev. Paul Shanley, a Roman Catholic priest from Boston, Massachusetts accused of raping boys.The gay movement has been accused of having links to NAMBLA, especially by right-wing Christians, although the majority of gay rights organizations reject all these claims. In the early 1990s, the International Lesbian and Gay Association had its UN ECOSOC consultative NGO status withdrawn after it was revealed it had links to NAMBLA. ILGA then expelled NAMBLA from the organization, but still has not been able to get back consultative status. Some members of the gay movement opposed ILGA's action as a witchhunt.
The analogue of NAMBLA in the Netherlands is the association MARTIJN (for acceptance of pedophilia), which was founded in 1982.
