Norris writes to supporters as fresh controversy erupts

SENATOR David Norris has written a letter to supporters in a bid to end the controversy over remarks made in old interviews which is threatening to derail his presidential bid.

Mr Norris pleaded with people to judge him on his deeds and record in the Seanad rather than a handful of “sensational newspaper headlines”.

It came after the Daily Mail reprinted extracts from an interview which he gave to the paper last year in which he defended the classical Greek idea of pederasty, called for the legislation of drugs and prostitution, and said there should be a principle, rather than an age, of consent.

The Daily Mail interview resurfaced less than a fortnight after Mr Norris was forced to explain remarks he made in a separate interview given to Magill magazine in 2002.

Mr Norris took to the airwaves again yesterday to clarify his views. He also published a letter to supporters in a bid to quell the ongoing controversy.

In the letter, Mr Norris said he abhorred child abuse in all its forms and that he had always campaigned for children’s rights.

On the age of consent, he said the judiciary was best equipped to make such difficult decisions. “Consent based on age has resulted in many instances in the inappropriate criminal prosecution of minors,” he said.

On the issue of drugs, Mr Norris said the “blunt instrument of criminalisation” was not working.

“Hard as it is to accept, my view is that the welfare of the community, including the victims of drug abuse, may be better served by having access to quality controlled, legally prescribed drugs,” he said.

On prostitution, he said his views “have always been directed towards the welfare and protection of the women involved”.

On pederasty, he said it was a term describing sexual relations between an older and younger man in ancient Greece, as discussed in Plato’s Symposium.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio, he stressed he was talking about “young adults” rather than teenagers below the age of consent. “My experience as a young man in Dublin was that there were no social outlets for gay men. The subject was surrounded by silence and fear,” he said in the letter.

By contrast, he regarded what was envisaged by Plato “as a much more interesting and preferable introduction to sexuality than my own experience. That is my own personal opinion”.

Mr Norris said he would continue his campaign to become president “with even greater and renewed impetus, determination and strength”.