Last year, San Diego Pride came under fire because a man, who himself has multiple-felony convictions and has spent most of his 50 years in prison, publicized that Pride had not checked the Megan’s Law database to discover that a few of their 400-plus employees and volunteers were registered sex offenders.

The board investigated each case, checked with police, and decided to allow the RSOs to still work. The men had paid for their crimes, would have little if any contact with children, and the police indicated that the men were not precluded from participating in Pride.

I indicated here that not all RSOs are threats to children or others. Some on the list are gay men and lesbians convicted of consensual adult gay sex, occurring before 1975. California law still requires judges to make men and women register for nude sunbathing (indecent exposure) at Black’s Beach.

I pointed out last year that California required persons convicted of having consensual oral sex (but not vaginal sex) with someone between the ages of 16 and 18 to register for life as sex offenders.

But that’s changed now. The California Supreme Court struck down the law a few months ago because it only applied to oral sex and not vaginal consensual sex. The court also pointed out that the age of consent in some states is as low as 14, while 16 to 18 is the norm.

Congress recently recognized Department of Justice reports that more than 90 percent of child sex abuse cases involve adults who know the child victim (and usually the parents), and that the issue of adult men preying upon children on the Internet and/or purchasing child pornography may involve hundreds of thousands of people. One child porn site reports more than 100,000 subscribers. And, sick as it is, 90 percent of the child victims are forced to do it by their parents.

Now those are real child sexual abuse problems. Not Pride.

San Diego Pride has never even had one complaint of child sexual abuse.

Nevertheless, last year some cried for longtime board members to resign because they weren’t sensitive to child abuse.

They weren’t sensitive to politics; it was campaign season. Some candidates wanted to make this a campaign issue by refusing to march in the parade.

Of course, people who really care about child abuse beg the president for money so that a bankrupt city can hire and keep police to respond to domestic violence calls. People who care about child abuse don’t let an anti-gay youth groups benefit from public subsidies (free land in Balboa Park), especially when the California Supreme Court ruled recently such subsidies are illegal. Yes, people who care about kids condemn anti-gay bigotry aimed at gay youth and adults.

I have found no reported cases where a gay pride group was sued because of failure to prevent child sex abuse. But that doesn’t stop some people who still, for whatever reason, believe Pride must do more to “protect” the children at Pride.

They want the Pride board to screen every employee and volunteer. Check the Megan’s Law Web site and consult criminal records for every volunteer.

But what about the attendees? Check every person who enters the festival. Run their driver’s licenses through the Department of Justice computer database. How about cavity inspections? You never know, someone may sneak in a SpongeBob doll.

Let’s “childproof” the festival and make it “family friendly.” Impose a dress code, like school dress codes. Publish the code on the Web site. No one enters without a shirt and pants. Shorts are OK, but they must completely cover the hipbone and extend down to the calf. No thongs, no saggy pants.

Tell the comedians no more four-letter words, not even when describing President Bush. Cancel Margaret Cho and get Kirk Cameron.

No suggestive dancing. No sale of beer in the beer garden. No sex ed info: Everyone knows how HIV is spread. Abstinence works. No food vendor can sell corndogs – too sexually suggestive. Shut out TOP Producers Realty – drop the TOP, no sexual innuendo.

I don’t understand it. In short, make San Diego Pride host a prude fest. Why? I think it’s because nobody will attend.

And who will that please? Do you remember the guy (the ex-gay) who started all this? He and his ilk would like to see Pride and you all disappear.