UPDATE on MSNBC Story "Pedophiles Gunning for Cuomo"

Yesterday we reported on a MSNBC story which claimed "Pedophiles Gunning for Cuomo" and that Nambla was somehow involved. We wondered if it some sort of a satire but as it turns out it is a cruel hoax. See the following Press Release posted on Nambla:


PRESS RELEASE
March 9, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Arnold Schoen at arnoldschoen@yahoo.com
For more info: www.nambla.org

NY Post Article A Hoax

NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association, flatly denies the ridiculous accusation (as reported in the NY Post on March 9, 2009) that we put a bounty on New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. We have done nothing of the sort, to Mr. Cuomo or anyone else, now or ever. Unnamed sources talking about vague threats by some unnamed "agent" offering money adds up to precisely one thing -- a hoax. There is no truth to the story. Contrary to the many falsehoods which have been directed against us over the years, NAMBLA is an organization dedicated to the changing of laws, not the breaking of them.

It is true that we oppose civil commitment. We do so for the same reasons so many other sensible groups and individuals do -- it is an end run around everyone's constitutional and legal protections. Civil commitment programs are an ex-post facto use of mental health facilities as prisons and are based on misinformation about recidivism rates (which study after study by states and the federal government have shown to be very low). We oppose civil commitment because the many millions of dollars wasted in this futile quest to appear tough on crime could be much more wisely spent being smart on crime. We oppose civil commitment because, like all good Americans, our history has taught us to despise witchhunts and to question the ulterior motives of witchhunters.

If the Attorney General's office had actually put any credible effort into investigating this hoax they would have had no trouble disproving the allegations. The fact that someone went running to the tabloid press instead shows that publicity rather than credibility was the only consideration. It also speaks poorly of the NY Post that they printed such an unsubstantiated story. We think the people of New York would be much better served if both the Attorney General's office and the Post put more effort into distinguishing fact from fantasy. ..Source..