Raise age of consent?

[royal_archer]

If both kids are under the age of consent and no force is involved, exactly how would we decide who the perpetrator was?

As for raising the age of consent - not gonna happen. Kids are having consensual sex at an increasingly younger age; they don’t seem to know or care what the law says. Small wonder when we have mom putting their daughters on BCP as soon as they enter puberty.

Just getting kids to respect the existing law would be a great achievement.

If both parties are minors then they would both be perpetrators.

Right now it is not illegal for a minor to have relations with a minor.

Also Drug, drinking and smoking laws are being ignored but we still make an effort to enforce them. The idea would be to reduce the number of occurances even if it was not possible to eliminate them.

 

[strngrnrth]

If both parties are minors then they would both be perpetrators.

Right now it is not illegal for a minor to have relations with a minor.

Also Drug, drinking and smoking laws are being ignored but we still make an effort to enforce them. The idea would be to reduce the number of occurances iven if it was not possible to eliminate them.

Actually, any coercive sexual activity is illegal no matter the age of the one doing the coercing, but if the juvenile hearing determines that the minor responsible is incapable of criminal intent (usually about age 9 or 10, but the whole thing is a judgment call and the structure depends on the state), then it is referred to counseling. If the minor who is abusing another minor is judged to have criminal intent but not on an adult level, it’s a juvenile offense. If a 12-year-old boy makes his sister change clothes in front of him and tries to touch her, he will probably go to juvenile detention for quite a while and have psych tests for a long time. But if he was 17, he would probably be in adult jail for that. If he was five, he’d be getting counseling. Things started changing in the early '90’s, when an alarming increase in abuse of children by other children came to light. For some reason regular sexual exploration by kids had taken a cruel turn. Kids were hurting each other more often. So the laws changed to deal with the changing culture of childhood. Violent TV shows and song lyrics could have had a lot to do with it.

 

[royal_archer]

Actually, any coercive sexual activity is illegal no matter the age of the one doing the coercing, .

The problem comes with the acts that are not overtly coercive. I consider coercion to be where there is an act that was not consented to. A child can not consent. Therefore any act could be considered as coercion under that deffinition. If a guy talks a girl into bed is that coercion? What if there is peer preasure put on an individual? My contention is that the act is wrong and harmful and it is societies responsibility to protect that child from that harmful situation even if the child, who doesn’t know better, disagrees.

Now, I do like the idea of degrees of punishment. A 17 year old with a 14 year old is much more serious than two 16 year olds together.

 

[Phemie]

From my college law class.
I heard that in the early 1900’s the age of consent in california was 11.

Also In canada the age of consent is 14.

As of May 1, 2008, the age of consent in Canada is 16 but there is a “close-in-age-exception” meaning 14 or 15 year olds can have sex with someone who is less than 5 years older.

IOW a 19 year old can have sex with a 15 year old but not with a 14 year old.

 

[cyberwolf001]

Only think I’d like to see done with these age of consent laws is alter them so that in the case of statutory rape the adult wont be charged with if he was fooled by the child’s age.

Such as in this case Alisha Dean Doesn’t Look - Or Act - 13

That’s what Morris Williams said. Williams, 22, went to see Alisha Dean’s father, Jerry Dean, after several dates with Alisha. Alisha had told Morris Williams she was 18. Her Myspace (now edited and private) said she was 19 and divorced. But after having sex with Alisha, Williams got worried. Things she said and did tipped him off, and he went to see Jerry Dean, who told Williams that yeah, his daughter was only 13. Then Jerry Dean called the police to press charges.

I know that in some states the girl could show a faked ID, faked High School diploma, faked college ID. An if she has an older sister that looks enough like her her sister’s senior yearbook and it STILL wouldn’t matter! The older party would still be sent to jail and branded a child abuser!

 

[strngrnrth]

Only think I’d like to see done with these age of consent laws is alter them so that in the case of statutory rape the adult wont be charged with if he was fooled by the child’s age.

Such as in this case Alisha Dean Doesn’t Look - Or Act - 13

I know that in some states the girl could show a faked ID, faked High School diploma, faked college ID. An if she has an older sister that looks enough like her her sister’s senior yearbook and it STILL wouldn’t matter! The older party would still be sent to jail and branded a child abuser!

That’s another reason not to have sex until marriage.

 

[ALLGIRLS]

If someone under the age of consent gets pregnant then it would be an absolute that there was illegal sexual activity involved. ***If they go in for abourtion they should be turned over to child protective services ***or another agency to pursue legal actions. The DNA of the baby could be tested to prove who else was guilty.

There could also be monitoring of email and text message traffic to identify other guilty parties. They are already monitoring this traffic so it would not be a new invasion of privacy.

Regarding the first bolded quote, Planned Parenthood isn’t doing this NOW. They have minors coming in for abortions where the father is an adult, and happily take the money and kill the baby. They’ve been investigated for this (after several “sting” operations), but of course aren’t cooperating.

Regarding the 2nd quote, this won’t fly. An appeals court (I don’t think it was the USSC, but I could be wrong) recently overturned a robbery conviction because the mother of the robber’s 14 y/o girlfriend listened in on their phone conversation wherein he admitted to the robbery. The Court said the mother “violated her daughter’s privacy” and the info shouldn’t have been used in Court.

Our country has gone to hell in a handbasket and no one in charge seems to want to go back. So while this is a nice, armchair rhetorical discussion, none of it will happen, no matter whose in the White House or Congress.

In Christ,

Ellen

 

[cyberwolf001]

That’s another reason not to have sex until marriage.

Agreed of course in some states you can still get in trouble for merly hugging, kissing, cuddling or doing other actions with a minor. Even dating.

 

[CuriousInIL]

Two points.

First, I think it is a bad idea for the Church to get involved in these age of consent debates at all.

Second, for those making various statements about the age of consent and statutory rape laws in the US, it varies a lot state to state and very few if any of the blanket statements made about such and such is the law are true throughout the entirety of the US.

 

[royal_archer]

Regarding the 2nd quote, this won’t fly. An appeals court (I don’t think it was the USSC, but I could be wrong) recently overturned a robbery conviction because the mother of the robber’s 14 y/o girlfriend listened in on their phone conversation wherein he admitted to the robbery. The Court said the mother “violated her daughter’s privacy” and the info shouldn’t have been used in Court.

The Mother was probably opperating with out a warrant and outside the law enforcement system. Governemtn agencies have a lot more leaway. Also they usually do not use the information as evidence in court but normally use the evidence to get a warrant or determine when a further investigation is appropriate.

 

[HannahLisa]

In TX, the age of consent is 17 and statutory rape cannot happen between people less than 3 years of age apart.

I can see raising the age of consent to eighteen; in fact, that would make sense. I absolutely disagree with the idea that the age of consent should be 21 or even above. Adolescence is prolonged enough as it is. My parents married when my mother was 19 and my dad was 20. My grandparents married when my grandmother was 19 or 20 and my grandfather was 2 years older.

There are still teenagers mature enough to be able to cope with getting married young. Those teenagers should be able to do that. Some people are still immature at 30+. Thankfully, most aren’t.

On a side note, the drinking age should be lowered back to 18 unless colleges and law enforcement decide to actually enforce the law a lot more than they do…

 

[Holly3278]

Here is what I think. I think that regardless of their age, two unmarried persons should not be having sex and that includes most teens.

 

[teachccd]

Here is what I think. I think that regardless of their age, two unmarried persons should not be having sex and that includes most teens.

I think that you are right!

 

[Pro-Life_Teen]

Age of consent is tricky. I’ve heard of two minors having sex with each other [12 and 13 I want to say] and both being charged with raping the other. Just recently I read that a 14 year old told her counselor that a 13 year old had forced himself on her. She was frightened and wanted to know what to do. But because he was under the age of consent and she was over it, she was charged with raping him. They settled out of court, but still- there’s so little common sense with all this.

And Planned Parenthood, as shown in sting operations, tells the girl not to tell them the age of their boyfriend. If she is underage and begins to speak about the father being in his 20s, she is cut off. Ignorance is bliss…

Kids can’t handle sex, but the secular mindset is that it’s freeing and empowering. Poor kids are told it’s fine, and they see nothing wrong with it.

 

[strngrnrth]

Age of consent is tricky. I’ve heard of two minors having sex with each other [12 and 13 I want to say] and both being charged with raping the other. Just recently I read that a 14 year old told her counselor that a 13 year old had forced himself on her. She was frightened and wanted to know what to do. But because he was under the age of consent and she was over it, she was charged with raping him. They settled out of court, but still- there’s so little common sense with all this.

And Planned Parenthood, as shown in sting operations, tells the girl not to tell them the age of their boyfriend. If she is underage and begins to speak about the father being in his 20s, she is cut off. Ignorance is bliss…

Kids can’t handle sex, but the secular mindset is that it’s freeing and empowering. Poor kids are told it’s fine, and they see nothing wrong with it.

That’s horrible. All of it.
I remember a famous case where a judge said in a child-molestation case, “I’m satisfied that we have an unusually sexually permissive young lady and a young man who didn’t know enough to resist her advances.”
He was talking about an 18-year-old man and a girl of five.
The law should have been set up so that judgment would be impossible, but also judges should have been selected/elected in a way that would have kept him off the bench.
I think that there should just be a staggered system of combining who did what with how old they were to determine the judgment on these cases. Obviously if one person forces the other, the first is responsible, but a totally prepubescent child isn’t capable of comprehending what it means to do something sexual to another person. The adult/adolescent is then responsible to make some reasonable attempt to remove the child and terminate the contact.
So, if a five-year-old starts pulling your pants off or trying to do something very “adult” to you, you are to say, “That’s not OK. I don’t want you to do that.” Step away if possible. Then alert whoever is responsible for the child that the child needs someone to watch him/her right now. Isn’t that pretty much what sane people do in that context? Then mention it to a neighbor, teacher or someone else as reason to believe the child has been abused by someone else. If a teenager rapes someone, the aggressor is responsible, as with any other crime.
A three-year difference rule in cases where no one is coerced in any way makes sense, because growing up happens gradually. I think the three-year guideline is normal in the US.

 

[emilyt67]

It seams like a good idea for the Church to dedicate more resources to addressing the issue of age of consent and to remove age as an excuse for age of consent.

If I understand it correctly the age of consent varies by state but for discussion let’s say it is about 16. Any one over the age of 18 who has relations with a person under the age of consent could be guilty of statutory rape. However, I believe that those under 18 can’t be charged with statutory rape.

I assume there is no argument that children/teens having relations is a bad thing.

I believe the Church should go on the offense and first say that statutory rape applies regardless of the purpetrators age. I am not advocating putting kids in jail for this but they should be charged with a crime, fined, given other penalties, Possibly as a misdemeanor.

Second the Church should advocate raising the age of consent. You have to be 18 to vote and having intimate relations is a lot more significant of a decision. You have to be 21 to be considered responsible enough to drink and putting yourself in the possition to be a parrent is a very tough responsibiliity. That is why I believe the age of consent should be 21+. I feel a person needs to be more mature for their first time in bed than their first drink. And I know that there are cases where it is appropriate for 18, 19, and 20 year olds to get married but if those situations are reasonable then the parrents can always consent to the marriage.

I believe the bennefits of significantly raising the age includes giving people more of a chance to date and get established in life prior to entering an intimate relationship. Also, it reduces the number of unwanted pregnacies. It will also change the mind set from “As soon as I turn eighteen and move out I can do “it” when ever I want with Whomever I want…” to a mind set where people can move out and get established living on their own with out getting into a physical relationship.

Thoughts?

iI think that a seperation between church and state should be enforced.

 

[rwoehmke]

How about we implement Sharia Law? The Islamic religion has the solution you are seeking. Of course marriage can occur very early for a girl, but parental consent is required.

 

[royal_archer]

iI think that a seperation between church and state should be enforced.

Great then keep the athiest, pagans, and satanics from trying to make laws that encourage premarital wonton sexual activity.

 

[Christopher68]

If someone under the age of consent gets pregnant then it would be an absolute that there was illegal sexual activity involved. If they go in for abourtion they should be turned over to child protective services or another agency to pursue legal actions. The DNA of the baby could be tested to prove who else was guilty.

There could also be monitoring of email and text message traffic to identify other guilty parties. They are already monitoring this traffic so it would not be a new invasion of privacy.

Wow, when you read Orwell’s 1984 you must have been cheering for Big Brother!

This would, in fact, be a massive invasion of privacy. You’re suggesting that the government use the same tactics they use to fight terrorism in an effort to prevent someone from sexual activity. Absurd!

 

[royal_archer]

Wow, when you read Orwell’s 1984 you must have been cheering for Big Brother!

This would, in fact, be a massive invasion of privacy. You’re suggesting that the government use the same tactics they use to fight terrorism in an effort to prevent someone from sexual activity. Absurd!

Keep in mind I was only describing the theoretical extreme and this would only be to prevent and prosecute rapes. And this is no where near as intrusive as the health care legislation.