Source: Scott O’Hara, quoted in his obituary at the Spirit of Stonewall Press Conference, New York City, June 24, 1994.
Scott O’Hara is also quoted by [Samuel R. Delany]((/en/reports/1940s/all-you-have-to-do-is-talk-to-people-on-both-sides/) in his report.
Never one to shy from controversy, O’Hara was a strong supporter of NAMBLA (the North American Man-Boy Love Association), and took a good deal of flak for his support. O’Hara explained his support at a press conference held on June 24, 1994 to commemorate the Stonewall riot. “When I was 12 and 13 years old I would have joined NAMBLA in a minute, because I knew I was gay and I wanted to go out and get laid, not just read ‘The Gay Mystique’ all my life; I needed personal contact. [NAMBLA is] willing to take the risks that no one is willing to take… . They’re the only ones willing to acknowledge that adolescents actually do have sex lives. There is also a more basic reason why I support NAMBLA. They are the voice of dissent in the gay movement today. They’re the whipping boy, the fashionable group to condemn. … I say, watch out, tomorrow that whipping boy could be you… . In the efforts of the gay establishment to suppress NAMBLA I see the seeds of tyranny.”