NAMBLA’s Secret Weapon: The “Sex Offender Rights” Movement

RADAR News

5 days ago7 min read

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL), formerly known as Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL), markets itself as a criminal justice reform organization. But beneath the surface lies a disturbing history—its founding members had direct ties to NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association), a pedophile group that openly promotes adult-child sexual relationships. RSOL was founded by activists who felt sex offender laws were too harsh. It gained traction in 2007, after Paul Shannon, a longtime activist, published an article in CounterPunch advocating for legal reform.

But here’s where it gets dark:

One of the early leaders of Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL), was Tom Reeves, a founding member of NAMBLA and vocal advocate for pedophilia. RSOL claims that Reeves resigned from NAMBLA before helping with this new organization. However, there is no proof of his resignation, and he was operating under the pseudonym “Alex Marbury.” Tom Reeves never renounced his pro-pedophile beliefs and continued pushing the same narratives under RSOL. The clearest proof of RSOL’s direct collaboration with NAMBLA came in March 2008. RSOL, led by Paul Shannon and Tom Reeves, organized a protest at Coalinga State Hospital in California, where convicted sex offenders are civilly committed after serving their sentences. The event was kept secret to avoid backlash. But despite their efforts, NAMBLA member Joe Power showed up—and later confirmed multiple NAMBLA members were there. So let’s be clear: RSOL wasn’t just adjacent to NAMBLA; RSOL spent years eagerly working alongside NAMBLA affiliates and members.

By 2012, the Sex Offender Registry Reformists’ (RSOL) ties to NAMBLA were becoming too obvious to ignore. When RSOL tried to hold its 4th Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, public outrage forced its leadership to answer for their connections. RSOL's own attorney admitted that a former NAMBLA member (Tom Reeves) had held a leadership role—but claimed he was removed. Yet, when Reeves died later that year, RSOL publicly mourned him. Paul Shannon even called him a “good friend and mentor.” So, was Reeves really removed? Or was he just quietly shuffled out to avoid bad press?

In 2016, Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL) rebranded as The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL), conveniently dropping the words “sex offender” from its name. Their reasoning? To reduce stigma. The reality? A calculated PR move to escape scrutiny while continuing their work. At its core, this organization wasn't really about “legal reform”—it was about protecting pedophiles like Tom Reeves.

Paul Shannon sits at the top of The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws’ (NARSOL) leadership today. This man was not just some random activist—he was at the center of it all. He was a close friend of Tom Reeves, continuing to support him even after his NAMBLA involvement was exposed. Shannon also defended convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley, who was caught preying on children and linked to NAMBLA conferences. In 1998, Paul Shannon co-signed a petition that was first posted on “BoyChat,” a forum specifically for pedophiles, criticizing child protection laws. The petition's wording sounded eerily similar to NAMBLA's activist talking points. Is it any coincidence that this took place on “BoyChat?” A petition doesn't just “accidentally” end up on a pedophile message board. It was put there for a reason. According to NAMBLA's website, the petition was co-written by none other than Tom Reeves himself.

Since the rebrand from RSOL to NARSOL, they seem to have cleaned up their public messaging. But have they actually changed? Their website no longer mentions lowering the age of consent or child sex education—but it used to. They have never publicly denounced their past connections to NAMBLA. Even if they’ve toned down their rhetoric—the same people who founded RSOL are still in charge today. That should concern everyone.

What does The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) Advocate for today?

As stated in their name, NARSOL advocates for reform of sex offense laws and the civil rights of sex offenders. It is a national organization with affiliated state groups and local organizations in all but eight states. They also advocate for using less “stigmatizing vocabulary,” urging journalists to avoid the terms “pedophile” and “sex offender” while describing predators who seek to harm children. They even have their own guidelines for journalists to follow and implement terminology that caters to the feelings of child molesters. (e.g., avoid using “pedophile” and “sex offender”).

Why should journalists follow writing guidelines that are designed to destigmatize child molesters? That sounds like a terrible idea. As a matter of fact, “stigmatized vocabulary” is necessary and should be put in boldface when discussing organizations like The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL), whose leaders and founders have a documented history of rubbing elbows with pedophiles and sex offenders. Despite their claims of advocating for "rational" sex offender laws, NARSOL takes no position on age of consent laws. Given their history, that silence speaks volumes. There is no such thing as a “rational sex offender.”

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) is practically crawling with convicted sex offenders, including their leaders who have collaborated with NAMBLA pedophiles in the past. Their work mainly focuses on abolishing sex offender registries, opposing residency and proximity restrictions on offenders, criticizing lifetime supervision/parole, and fighting civil commitment laws which keep offenders incarcerated indefinitely after their original sentences are finished.

Their leadership is infested with convicted sex offenders or individuals with direct ties to them.

Brenda Jones, Executive Director of NARSOL and Executive Director of Vivante Espero. – Relative of a sex offender.

Robin Vander Wall, Chair of NARSOL and President/Founder of Vivante Espero. – Convicted sex offender.

Paul Shannon, Chair Emeritus of NARSOL and credited as Founder of RSOL. – History of associating with NAMBLA since the 1970s.

Michael Shimkin, Vice Chair. Convicted - child pornography.

Philip Kaso, Treasurer of NARSOL and Vice President of Vivante Espero. Convicted sex offender.

Sandy Rozek, Secretary of NARSOL and Secretary of Vivante Espero. Activist for sex offenders.

David Garlock. Murderer who works with rehabilitating sex criminals.

Guy Hamilton-Smith. Convicted sex offender.

Erik McInnis. Convicted sex offender.

Don Thurber. Convicted sex offender

Larry Neely – Treasurer. Convicted sex offender.

Who Funds NARSOL? Follow the Money.

NARSOL has a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation called Vivante Espero. Its goals are the same as NARSOL’s. More importantly, it seems that this is where the money is coming from. Vivante Espero finances the annual NARSOL conference and publishes NARSOL materials, including the bi-monthly newsletter “The Digest.” They control the NARSOL legal fund, which finances litigation and amici support around the country to support civil rights challenges and abolish the sex offender registry. NARSOL has been involved with legal actions since 2013.

According to their resource database, “NARSOL Resources is designed to be the ultimate repository for sexual offense registry related data, academic research, lists, links, books, reports, advocacy organizations, audio and visual files, court cases, and much, much more. If a resource relates to the sexual offense registry and could be useful to our members and/or fellow advocates, we will make every effort to archive it here.”

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) and Vivante Espero are run by the same people, and their financial network is built around protecting those convicted of sex crimes. Their leadership is still dominated by convicted sex offenders. Their funding supports lawsuits aimed at dismantling sex offender registries and supervision laws. The same leadership that collaborated with NAMBLA is still running the organization. How much power and influence do former NAMBLA sympathizers still have within NARSOL today? NARSOL should issue a full, public disavowal of its past and any remaining individuals who hold pro-pedophile views. Until then, they deserve nothing but skepticism.

References

Thank you to Lisa and our brilliant Research Department, led by Mandy, for their thorough investigation and for providing all the sources to share with our readers.

https://bostonphoenix.com/alt1/archive/styles/96/10/NAMBLA.html

Criminal Legal News. Articles by Sandy Rozek.

https://www.criminallegalnews.org/news/author/sandy-rozek/

Emporia Gazette. (2024). News article.

https://www.emporiagazette.com/free/article_4ce38aea-da67-11ee-b828-7b992e0809e3.html

Grant County Beat. (2016). Convicted sex offender worked for Ivey Soto and runs sex offender rights group out of Ivey Soto’s law office.

https://web.archive.org/web/20161229145249/http://www.grantcountybeat.com/editorial/politics-enter-at-your-own-risk/32431-convicted-sex-offender-worked-for-ivey-soto-and-runs-sex-offender-rights-group-out-of-ivey-soto-s-law-office

JustLeadershipUSA. David Garlock biography.

https://jlusa.org/leader/david-garlock/#:~:text=David%20Garlock%20is%20a%20successful,the%20life%20of%20the%20abuser

LinkedIn. David Garlock post.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/david-garlock-667351a1_i-am-a-survivor-of-childhood-sexual-abuse-activity-7219702172718895104-EYhS

NAMBLA. Tom Reeves’ writings: A call to safeguard our children and our.