Sexual Freedom & Liberation

Gay Community Fights Back (1978)
In 1978, Boston District Attorney Garrett Byrne publicized the indictment of 24 men who engaged in sexual activities with boys below the age of consent. Byrne also set up a hotline for reporting suspicious behavior. The Boston-Boise Committee formed against the “Boston witchhunt.” They protested the ways in which Boston police gathered information about suspects, the public identification of suspects and victims, the homophobia exhibited towards the suspects and victims, and the nature of consensual sexual activities between men and adolescent boys. The Boston-Boise Committee inspired formation of North American Man/Boy Love association, which continues to support men and boys in mutually consensual sexual relationships. From the William J. Canfield papers.

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