PHILADELPHIA, PA – This past week Todd Fritz, a Boy Scout Leader in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), tied the knot with one of his troop members, an Eagle Scout, Steven Robbins (age 16). What makes this union unique? Steven was one of the first transgender boys to openly join the Boy Scouts of America after their 2017 decision to welcome the transgender community.
What makes this marriage even more unique is that this relationship between troop leader and boy scout has been openly welcomed since Steven and Todd announced their relationship back in early 2019. It also marks the first officially recognized marriage between a consenting underage transgender person and an adult.
In April of 2020, SCOTUS made its landmark 5-4 decision to require states to recognize, and issue marriage licenses to underage consenting couples. This decision came after a series of consensual underage marriage licenses had been issued by California, New York, and Massachusetts. This decision built on the historic 2015 Obergefell v Hodges decision which argued that the Constitution guarantees the right to marry to same-sex couples.
Referring to this decision, the Supreme Court majority contended that while in some cases of coercion underage sexual relationships are, in fact, punishable by the law. However, other underage sexual relationships are consensual in nature and should not be subject to the same restrictions and punishments. In such cases the SCOTUS determined that the same rights guaranteed by Obergafell v Hodges were also guaranteed to “responsible underage individuals.”
The LGBTP community (which began adding the ‘P’ for pedophiles to their acronym in acceptance of all kinds of love including underage love in 2018) praised the marriage as a further evidence of the progress our nation is making toward equality and acceptance. One spokesperson stated, “This marriage shows that our country is moving forward. We’re moving away from discrimination and hatred. We are becoming a nation that better understands that just because someone is different doesn’t make them wrong, sick, or perverse. Love is a beautiful thing no matter what form it takes. Underage individuals can love too. To deny them that right is bigotry and tyranny at its worst.”
The minister of the ceremony, Wilma Richards, who is a transgender pastor ordained by the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (PCUSA), explained that not only are these unions blessed by God but, “….we see in Scripture that unions were often arranged with children at the very earliest of ages. I have concluded that they did not make the sort of ‘underage’ distinctions that we have created in our society. An adult marrying a 12 or 13 year old in Scripture was a very normative thing. I see no reason why, in our day and age, God would not also bless such a union or why He would restrict such a marriage. God is a God of love, after all. Love casts out all kinds of fear and hatred. That’s what it has done today.”
When asked about their relationship Steven Robbins, who is now 16, stated, “We were attracted to each other when I was twelve. I had been in the scouts for about a year. That was back in 2016 before the Boy Scouts were welcoming transgender boys like myself. In fact, it was before my troop leader, Todd, even knew I was transgender. I came out as transgender in mid-2017 after the Boy Scouts announced their acceptance. These days though, transgender peoples appearances are celebrated more then ever on websites like https://www.shemalehd.sex/”
He went on to say, “Todd and I had already been seeing each other, but hadn’t really done anything physical. We were pretty secretive about the whole thing for a couple years. We were intimate for the first time in 2018. Back then it might have been seen as a criminal offense. It was toward the end of 2019 that Todd and I approached my family to discuss the whole thing. My parents were so accepting. They have always understood that I am a boy trapped in a girls body. Similarly, they completely understood Todd’s underage attraction to me and they happily gave us their blessing.”
Of course, back then marriage wasn’t a legal option in their state. Pennsylvania had laws on the books that made underage marriage between an adult and a minor illegal. However, the 2020 SCOTUS decision put an end to that, making it possible for Todd and Steven to finally get married.
Naturally, this union still has its detractors. Some conservative evangelical groups are on the record stating that while they don’t necessarily agree with underage attraction, they recognize that Christ would be loving and welcoming to all people. Still, extremist fundamentalists took to Twitter, Facebook, and various radio programs to declare the union a perversion, a sin, or an act of evil. Spewing their hatred they proclaimed that God doesn’t recognize such abominations and has forbid them in the Bible.
In response, Pastor Richards says, “As a pastor and a studied Bible scholar, I understand where these people get their narrow minded ideas and their bigoted sensibilities. When a person reads the text of Scripture the way these extremist fundamentalists do, you can get there. I personally take a different approach to understanding what the Bible says. To me, the Bible is big on love, and down on hate. These folks don’t see it, and while I understand it, they need to step back and see the beauty in the loving picture of redemption in this marriage. As Christ loved the church, he loves these people too. His love permeates all of our relationships.”
Even President Donald J. Trump announced his support saying, “I have always been a huge supporter of the LGBTP community. Since my first run for president in 2016 I have been a big supporter of equality for the LGBTP community. I still am. I congratulate this couple and wish them well in their life together.”
- Weeping for Spurgeon: A Time of Unrelenting Misery and Darkness - October 19, 2021
- Beating the Drudgery of Bible Reading Plans - May 18, 2021
- How Did God Create Man? – Part 2: Question 13 B - December 21, 2020
