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91_HR0325
LRB9106879DJcdA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Children are a precious gift and responsibility;
3 and
4 WHEREAS, The spiritual, physical, and mental well-being
5 of children is our sacred duty; and
6 WHEREAS, No segment of our society is more critical to
7 the future of human survival and society than our children;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, It is the obligation of all public policymakers
10 not only to support but also to defend the health and rights
11 of parents, families, and children; and
12 WHEREAS, Information endangering to children is being
13 made public and, in some instances, may be given unwarranted
14 or unintended credibility through release under professional
15 titles or through professional organizations; and
16 WHEREAS, Elected officials have a duty to inform and
17 counter actions they consider damaging to children, parents,
18 families, and society; and
19 WHEREAS, Illinois has declared that certain sexual abuse
20 and assault offenses against children are felonies and has
21 declared parents who sexually molest their children to be
22 unfit; and
23 WHEREAS, Virtually all studies in this area, including
24 those published by the American Psychological Association,
25 condemn child sexual abuse as criminal and harmful to
26 children; and
27 WHEREAS, The American Psychological Association has
28 recently published, but did not endorse, a study that
29 suggests that sexual relationships between adults and willing
-2- LRB9106879DJcdA
1 children are less harmful than believed and might even be
2 positive for "willing" children; therefore, be it
3 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5 the House of Representatives condemns and denounces all
6 suggestions in the recently published study by the American
7 Psychological Association that indicates sexual relationships
8 between adults and willing children are less harmful than
9 believed and might even be positive for "willing" children;
10 and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urges the
12 United States Congress and the President of the United States
13 to likewise reject and condemn, in the strongest honorable
14 written and vocal terms possible, any suggestion that sexual
15 relations between children and adults are anything but
16 abusive, destructive, exploitative, reprehensible, and
17 punishable by law; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives encourages
19 competent investigations to continue to research the effects
20 of child sexual abuse using the best methodology so that the
21 public and public policymakers may act upon accurate
22 information; and be it further
23 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution shall be sent to
24 the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States;
25 the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United
26 States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Trent
27 Lott, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable J.
28 Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives;
29 the Honorable David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., Surgeon General of
30 the United States; and the members of the Illinois delegation
31 in Congress.