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STONEWALL LIBERTARIANS
News Release
For Immediate Release
October 5, 2006
Contact: Dr. Tom Stevens
Stonewall Libertarians Executive Director
718-357-7075
DrTomStevens@aol.com
Turning Over A New Page: Ending The Hysteria Over Teenage Sexuality
The revelation that former Rep. Mark Foley exchanged friendly e-mails and sexually explicit instant
messages with former Congressional pages raises the issue whether what he did should be considered
wrong or inappropriate. Certainly, if said conduct took place in Washington D.C., where the age of
consent is 16, Rep. Foley could have had consensual sex with those male pages without committing any
crime. Written communication with male pages who registered on Mark Foley’s gaydar screen shouldn’t
be turned into a shameful or immoral act.
“Teenagers today are exposed to adult knowledge and are engaging in sexual activities at an early age
but instead of recognizing this fact by lowering the voting age and the age of consent, society has reacted
by passing laws denying fully functioning teenagers the right to express their sexuality as they see fit,”
said Dr. Tom Stevens, Executive Director of Stonewall Libertarians.
“It is natural and healthy to be attracted to older teenagers. It is the denial of that attraction that is
unnatural and perverse” said Dallwyn Merck, Executive Vice-President of Stonewall Libertarians New
York. “Many states try to deny teenagers their freedom by enacting curfew laws and age of consent
laws. Our country is out of step with the rest of the world. Over 45 nations have an age of consent that
is as low as 14. In this case, it appears to me the male pages and Rep. Foley both benefited from their
interactions. The male pages got a mentor and a powerful gay man they could identify with and Rep.
Foley was able to give something back by reaching out to help provide guidance and advice to those male
pages open to such a relationship. The sin here is in making those male pages feel guilty or dirty
because they chose to pursue a personal relationship with Rep. Foley,” Merck said.
“I think the true impropriety lies not in Mr. Foley’s actions but in the hypocrisy of condemning love
between two consenting people, in an age when war and acts of governmentally sanctioned torture face
no such scrutiny,” said Chris Staheli, Vice-President of Stonewall Libertarians New York. “The capacity
for love and its expression represent the highest flowering of human endeavor and hysterical decrying of
the expression of human sexuality in the form of legal witch hunts is a true source of shame. Society
straightjackets normal healthy impulses and condones man’s most inhumane actions as vital to the
function of the state, and that is truly a crime,” Staheli said.
“The male pages who sought to pursue a personal relationship with Rep. Foley knew exactly who they
were getting involved with when they exchanged e-mails and instant messages with the Congressman. It
was no secret Mark Foley was gay. If any of the male pages weren’t interested in such a relationship,
they could have terminated the communications at any time,” said Jeff Grizlo, a college student who is
President of Stonewall Libertarians New York. “I would have been eager to pursue a personal
relationship with Rep. Foley had the opportunity been presented to me. I’ve been a Bent Wanker for as
far back as I can recall. I’ve been exchanging sexually explicit instant messages with friends since I was
14. To do so with a like-minded gay Congressman would’ve boosted my self-esteem, inspired me to
achieve better grades, and might have helped me feel less alone,” Grizlo said.
Dr. Stevens said, “If discrimination against gay men wasn’t as prevalent as it is, Rep. Foley might have
been more open about his sexuality and might have been freer to pursue healthier relationships. But
times being as they are, even the pages reportedly referred to Rep. Foley as ‘FFF - Foley the Fag from
Florida’. In that atmosphere, there shouldn’t be any surprise when situations like this arise.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stonewall Libertarians, founded by a Stonewall Veteran on April 20, 1996, is an independent
organization of libertarians that believes in being politically active to promote smaller
government, lower taxes and more individual freedom. It exists to reach out to Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender & gay-friendly libertarians to promote tolerance and equality in society.
News Release
For Immediate Release
October 5, 2006
Contact: Dr. Tom Stevens
Stonewall Libertarians Executive Director
718-357-7075
DrTomStevens@aol.com
Turning Over A New Page: Ending The Hysteria Over Teenage Sexuality
The revelation that former Rep. Mark Foley exchanged friendly e-mails and sexually explicit instant
messages with former Congressional pages raises the issue whether what he did should be considered
wrong or inappropriate. Certainly, if said conduct took place in Washington D.C., where the age of
consent is 16, Rep. Foley could have had consensual sex with those male pages without committing any
crime. Written communication with male pages who registered on Mark Foley’s gaydar screen shouldn’t
be turned into a shameful or immoral act.
“Teenagers today are exposed to adult knowledge and are engaging in sexual activities at an early age
but instead of recognizing this fact by lowering the voting age and the age of consent, society has reacted
by passing laws denying fully functioning teenagers the right to express their sexuality as they see fit,”
said Dr. Tom Stevens, Executive Director of Stonewall Libertarians.
“It is natural and healthy to be attracted to older teenagers. It is the denial of that attraction that is
unnatural and perverse” said Dallwyn Merck, Executive Vice-President of Stonewall Libertarians New
York. “Many states try to deny teenagers their freedom by enacting curfew laws and age of consent
laws. Our country is out of step with the rest of the world. Over 45 nations have an age of consent that
is as low as 14. In this case, it appears to me the male pages and Rep. Foley both benefited from their
interactions. The male pages got a mentor and a powerful gay man they could identify with and Rep.
Foley was able to give something back by reaching out to help provide guidance and advice to those male
pages open to such a relationship. The sin here is in making those male pages feel guilty or dirty
because they chose to pursue a personal relationship with Rep. Foley,” Merck said.
“I think the true impropriety lies not in Mr. Foley’s actions but in the hypocrisy of condemning love
between two consenting people, in an age when war and acts of governmentally sanctioned torture face
no such scrutiny,” said Chris Staheli, Vice-President of Stonewall Libertarians New York. “The capacity
for love and its expression represent the highest flowering of human endeavor and hysterical decrying of
the expression of human sexuality in the form of legal witch hunts is a true source of shame. Society
straightjackets normal healthy impulses and condones man’s most inhumane actions as vital to the
function of the state, and that is truly a crime,” Staheli said.
“The male pages who sought to pursue a personal relationship with Rep. Foley knew exactly who they
were getting involved with when they exchanged e-mails and instant messages with the Congressman. It
was no secret Mark Foley was gay. If any of the male pages weren’t interested in such a relationship,
they could have terminated the communications at any time,” said Jeff Grizlo, a college student who is
President of Stonewall Libertarians New York. “I would have been eager to pursue a personal
relationship with Rep. Foley had the opportunity been presented to me. I’ve been a Bent Wanker for as
far back as I can recall. I’ve been exchanging sexually explicit instant messages with friends since I was
14. To do so with a like-minded gay Congressman would’ve boosted my self-esteem, inspired me to
achieve better grades, and might have helped me feel less alone,” Grizlo said.
Dr. Stevens said, “If discrimination against gay men wasn’t as prevalent as it is, Rep. Foley might have
been more open about his sexuality and might have been freer to pursue healthier relationships. But
times being as they are, even the pages reportedly referred to Rep. Foley as ‘FFF - Foley the Fag from
Florida’. In that atmosphere, there shouldn’t be any surprise when situations like this arise.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stonewall Libertarians, founded by a Stonewall Veteran on April 20, 1996, is an independent
organization of libertarians that believes in being politically active to promote smaller
government, lower taxes and more individual freedom. It exists to reach out to Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender & gay-friendly libertarians to promote tolerance and equality in society.