Dershowitz digging a deeper hole on Twitter just now--arguing for lowering age of consent for sex

[Mrs. Overall]

Link to tweet

Alan Dershowitz
✔
@AlanDersh
I stand by the constitutional (not moral) argument I offered in my controversial oped: if a 16 year old has the constitutional right to have an abortion without state or parental interference, how could she not have the constitutional right to engage in consensual sex?

[dewsgirl]

1. ....

[Xipe Totec]

2. Not that he has skin in the game or anything... nt

[3catwoman3]

39. No skin - he kept...

...his underpants on -

[Xipe Totec]

41. Glad to see somebody caught on to the allusion nt

[asiliveandbreathe]

3. I still don't see how Harvard continues to allow this disgusting pos on campus n/t

On edit..you have to read the twitter thread....

[Mrs. Overall]

18. Yes! There are some really hilarious and witty responses to his post.

[madaboutharry]

4. That is officially weird.

I think Dershowitz knows that he is in trouble. He needs a good lawyer to take the Twitter machine away and tell him to STFU.

[912gdm]

44. or a grandchild to slap his hand and say NO!

NO TWITTER

[50 Shades Of Blue]

5. Breathtakingly vile.

[Girard442]

6. Sounds like Dersh has a bad case of Giuliani Syndrome.

[Clash City Rocker]

7. I'm sure he was okay with 16-year-olds being too young to vote

But being old enough to die in foreign wars to protect American oil interests. It’s just the fact that he can’t control the bodies of 16-year-old women that bothers him.

[leftstreet]

8. So he's offering a defense before he's even been charged?

I'm so confused

Why is he even talking about this? Who asked his opinion?

[tblue37]

71. He's defending an op ed he wrote in the past about lowering the age of consent, because

it has recently been uncovered.

[Goodheart]

9. Listen up, Alan Doucheowitz.... you call yourself a crack lawyer?

Bogus argument, Alan. The 16 year old DOES have a constitutional right to consensual sex... even if she has sex with YOU it's not a crime... for HER. It's YOU who don't have a constitutional right to sex with HER.

No wonder Jeffrey Toobin always makes you look silly.

[trev]

26. Heavy on the CRACK....

not that I think he's into that, or anything.

[Blue_true]

48. Excellent synopsis. nt

[Frustratedlady]

10. Thou protesteth too much, Dershowitz. n/t

[uponit7771]

11. Yeah, he's a pedo ...

[gordianot]

12. Maybe he should run for President.

That seems to protect you from being charged with what for anyone else is a crime.

[former9thward]

13. 16 is not the "lowering" of the age of consent.

16 is the age of consent in a majority of states.

[StarfishSaver]

17. But maybe not in the right states?

[Blue_true]

50. In Florida it is 18. So if he had sex with anyone younger here, he has a problem.

I don't know what the law is in NY State, I didn't look that up when I wondered about Florida's statue.

[Mrs. Overall]

19. His original Op-Ed in the LA Times argued for the age of consent being after puberty.

He said it should be illegal to have sex with very young children, but after puberty is ok.

Sick bastard.

[former9thward]

21. I would appreciate a link.

[Mrs. Overall]

23. The New Yorker released a story on his controversial Op-Ed this morning

and here is the info from an earlier DU post. It contains The New Yorker link, but I'm not sure if there is a link to the original article. The New Yorker article does quote extensively from his Op-Ed.

Excerpt from article:

Dershowitz has not shied away from provocative ideas about sex and the law. In a 1997 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, he argued against statutory-rape laws, writing, “There must be criminal sanctions against sex with very young children, but it is doubtful whether such sanctions should apply to teenagers above the age of puberty, since voluntary sex is so common in their age group.” He suggested that fifteen was a reasonable age of consent, no matter how old the partner was. He has also argued against punishing men who hire prostitutes. In a 1985 article, in the Gainesville Sun, Dershowitz proposed that a john “who occasionally seeks to taste the forbidden fruit of sex for hire” should not be arrested. The nonprofit executive recalled his discussing the idea in class: “He said, ‘Prostitutes know what they’re doing—they should be prosecuted. But you shouldn’t ruin the john’s life over that.’

Read article here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/alan-dershowitz-devils-advocate

[yardwork]

28. Prostitutes should be prosecuted but not their customers?

Wow.

[dsc]

36. that is insane

I favor decriminalization but for both the prostitutes and the johns

[Blue_true]

54. I agree in all cases for the prostitute. But a person caught using a sex slave should go to jail. n

[former9thward]

49. Thanks but I like direct quotes and context.

Reporters summations of law are almost always wrong.

[Mrs. Overall]

61. Thanks but it took two seconds to find the original 1997 article on the internet.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EAp11ldWkAAYpHX?format=jpg&name=medium

This is an image of the article that has been heavily quoted today since The New Yorker article this morning.

[Blue_true]

51. That is sickening.

Arrival at puberty can happen really young for some girls. So that pervert things that he should be able to have sex with a child who likely is not old enough to get final braces?

[pnwmom]

25. His op-ed argued for it to be lowered to 15.

Now he's trying to move the goalposts.

[uponit7771]

43. +1, 15 so he doesn't go to jail

[former9thward]

53. Why will no one link to that?

[Blue_true]

57. Even if it was legal, I personally would be totally embarrassed to be attracted to a 15 year old,

or even 16, 17, 18 and at my age, even 21 or 22. A 15 year old offers nothing that I would want in a female companion. I really don't understand the men that think someone that youngs should be exposed to anything but ethical and non-sexual adult mentoring.

[GulfCoast66]

62. Not so fast. I've been with the same lady for 32 years.

Never cheated once. Not that it does not happen and know plenty of good people that strayed. But not one with a minor. Because it is immoral and illegal.

But there is no deny young women are attractive to men. Plenty of high school girls are actually beautiful young women. No getting around it. I could deny they aren’t attractive, but every man here would know I was lying. I’m talking about physical developed women. Any man after a 9 year old needs extensive therapy.

But here’s the deal. Having sex with a minor is not just illegal it is wrong. But so is rape. And using your position of power to gain sex. And it all happens. Men with no moral compass do horrible things. It is more common than you think and until recently socially allowed. Judge Moore come to mind? Met his wife as a 30 something professional trolling high school dance recitals.

Yeah, these rich and powerful guys find a way to have them in a one-and-done situation. But I have personally known several examples where it happened with normal people. Ironically, every time in the confines of a evangelical church. No one went to jail! One of the many of reasons I am now a freethinker. I saw too many examples of church being an excuse of an older man looking for a young (assumed to be) virgin.

That is why we need to double down on treating this like a horrible crime. Too many men see it as normal.

Pisses the hell out of me.

[Blue_true]

63. It is easy to confuse beautiful for attractive.

Stated from the standpoint of a heterosexual male, all girls and many young women are unattractive to me, regardless of their physical beauty. That is just how I am built. I look for secular spiratuality in a person and that generally requires a female having had time to really think about the meaning of life and where she wants to take her's. My guess is that as long as you have been married, you are likely similar. I have never been married, but I can see that being almost always in the presence of another person requires having chosen the right person to begin with, along with philosophical balance and rationality, people that lose those or never had all those elements end up in affairs. I, like you seem to have seen, have seen people that regret having gotten married, it is more common than some think and when I see that I wonder what the person was thinking when he or she married to begin with.

You have been married to the same woman for a long time, congrats, that takes some understanding of yourself and your key values. My one belief is that a person can find another person that has the looks of the person that they marry, but it is the people that married for the right reasons that ignore the temptation.

[GulfCoast66]

65. Yeah, we're kind of on the same page.

I don’t believe in the spirituality thing, and don’t believe in romantic love. I sure don’t believe in Magic.

But I believe, at the core of my humanity in commitment. Once I make one I do my level best to keep it. Staying married and faithful has not always been easy. Although at 53 it’s not as difficult as at 33! The wife and I have worked together for common goals for a long time. Making it thru the really bad times makes the good times better. She was happy and successful before me, so I knew she liked me for, well, me. Back then I was poor. She did not need me. That is key

But even had I cheated it would not have been with a minor! That’s just fucking obscene.

And here’s the deal. I’m still a pretty good look guy. With some financial resources. The idea of a man in my position taking advantage of a young girl is about as disgusting a thing as I can imagine. And when I see it happening, I am very vocal in my feelings.

Unfortunately, it happens more than we like to admit. Men with assumed power taking advantage. And not only super rich guys. I have seen it with just a successful man of modest means using his power on a young girl. Although I must admit it has been 20 year or so. It seems like that shit is getting more rare.


Have a nice evening.

[Blue_true]

66. I read a news feed at lunchtime that was about a guy in England.

Apparently the schools there have a position that amounts to a teacher being a protector of students. A man, a teacher first used his position as a physical Ed teacher to groom girls, the article says that he groomed the first one when she was 15 and actually impregnated her, she had a miscarriage. When the first girl finished high school, he took up with another 15 year and then two 14 year olds. Amazingly the guy was investigated by police but he had used his authority over two girls to get them to lie. He was later promoted to assistant master teacher. When one of the girls reached adulthood, it all fell apart for him, the others came forward and he ended up convicted and sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Closer to home for us, a Florida State Trooper was arrested for having sex with a now 16 year old. According to the article, he first had sex with her when she was 15 and had sex with her several times in her home. All that is disconcerting on so many levels.

I have sort of guessed that you are not a spiratual type guy, that is not a bad thing, lots of good people are not. You pointed out several key things about making relationships work, that people often have to work through the bad times, many people don't have that capacity within them.

[GulfCoast66]

67. My relationship has taken more work than any other endeavor I have undertaken.

And reaped me the greatest rewards.

And, no, not spiritual. Grew up evangelical, but not the batshit crazy kind. Although bad enough. Saw several baptist ministers have to ‘move on to other churches’ after sexual adventures. Including one caught with a young man in his car by the police. His new church never knew. Had my dad not been a deacon I would not have known. This was in the 70’s. I had the good luck to have parents that supported a science education for me. That did the trick.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not militant about it. When I visit my mother or other family members I am more than capable of delivering the prayer at a meal. Since I’m sometimes now the oldest male I am sometimes asked. Cause for some reason if a man is there the woman can’t give the prayer! It’s easy and not going to offend my mother. Or anyone for that matter. I’m southern, after all!

Have a nice evening.

[tblue37]

72. He actually wants it to be 15, as a compromise between 14 and 16. nt

[marble falls]

14. Ol' Alan doesn't know how to shut up, does he?

[Skittles]

15. creepy

what he is really arguing is for perverts like him to fuck children

[uponit7771]

45. THIS !!!!

[Blue_true]

58. Yep. nt

[shanti]

16. Open mouth, insert foot

Just because one is well-educated doesn't mean that they have common sense!

[UTUSN]

20. K&R

[Baitball Blogger]

22. WTF is wrong with that man!

[smirkymonkey]

24. Hey Alan, about that tweet...

Bad idea! Even worse, Exhibit A (the actual newspaper article on why statutory rape is an "outdated concept":

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EArcJbSUcAEqiII?format=jpg&name=medium

You are just digging your own grave, dude. If I were you, I would keep my mouth shut and lay low.

It's not like you're going to be getting any dinner party invitations from your "friends" on the Vineyard. Especially if they have daughters, nieces, or granddaughters who are underage.

[nilram]

27. It's legal in most states for minors to have sex with each other, isn't it?

And sometimes if the partner is within a couple years of their age. This alone, apart from any activity that's not legal, imparts the need to have contraception and abortion legally available to minors.

[dawg day]

55. They call it the "Romeo and Juliet" exception.

Usually there can't be more than a couple years age difference.
It's actually one of the more rational laws out there, recognizing that teens have sex with each other.

[Blue_true]

59. He is not arguing contraception and abortion laws.

He is arguing for the right of an adult to have sex with someone as young as 15 years old. That is really disgusting.

[nilram]

70. He is using abortion laws to argue for that right.

And I'm countering his argument by saying there are other reasons for those abortion laws.

Not disagreeing that he's disgusting.

[Blue_true]

73. Ok, thanks. The idea that a man will see anything sexual in a 15 year old girl makes my skin crawl

around.

[Hav]

29. It's amazing that someone who has

been in this field for so long doesn't seem to understand (or is unwilling to understand) that these laws are primarily there not to restrict the rights of minors but of adults taking advantage of minors. As others in that twitter thread mentioned, it would also make it harder to prosecute offenders.
His angle is incredibly dishonest and creepy. Surely he has to know that sometimes there are laws whose main purpose is to protect someone and not to give the maximum amount of rights/freedom.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

30. It is 16 in some states

Mine for example, Washington State.

[Blue_true]

60. That is too young. My state (Florida) is 18 and I think that is right. nt

[Sanity Claws]

31. Close in age exemptions

Many states have close in age exemptions so that two 16 or 17 year olds can have consensual sex. The problem is when adults try to take advantage of a child. Dershowitz's argument fails to recognize this distinction.

[Botany]

32. Now which friend of Dershowitz was providing under age girls @ sex parties?

Could it be Jeffery Epstein?

[catrose]

33. He really wants to go there?

[bucolic_frolic]

34. He's offering cover for something as yet unknown

[Marcuse]

35. ...(not moral)...

[Bettie]

37. Makes you wonder what Ol' Jeffrey has on him

doesn't it? How young were the girls he wanted?

[NastyRiffraff]

38. Oy.

Did nobody tell him that this is not the time to say anything about underage sex? For his own sake, I mean.

[Blue_true]

47. He has a fool of a lawyer. nt

[Takket]

40. and the MAGAts that defend these people.........

all think Hillary was running a pedophile ring out of a pizza place and she is evil because of it.

the hypocrisy............. IT BURNS

[912gdm]

42. Very creepy Al....

very creepy....

[Blue_true]

46. The age of consent should be 18 in every state.

At least an 18 year old has some inkling of what adult life is like.

If the age of consent is set at 15, some adults will be having sex with even younger children. We should not go that route.

[elleng]

52. TOO DAMN LATE!

[Snackshack]

56. This was written in 1997.

It was creepy then and still is.

[Joe941]

64. Is this guy taking tweeting advice from tRump?

[Tarc]

68. These are words of a man who has had to paid for more than one 16 yr-old's abortion

Dersh is sinking and flailing, badly.

[LeftishBrit]

69. In the UK, the age of consent is 16

I don't see the logic of linking it to the constitutional right to an abortion, however. A paedophilia victim should surely have a right to an abortion!

[Iggo]

74. Sounds like someone is trying to justify his own actions.

We get it, Dersh. You like to fuck high school girls.

If you were sixteen, I wouldn't give a shit. But you're not.

[MBS]

75. Speechless. n/t

[dlk]

76. Dershowitz's Good Friendship with a Sexual Predator Like Epstein

Puts his Twitter pronouncements in a creepy, skin-crawling light. There’s a reason Dershowitz is doubling down. Someone should clue him in that rationalization disguised as constitutional argument or moral high ground doesn’t erase his crimes.

[Submariner]

77. Says the wife beater who put his wife in hospital and either later murdered her

or drove her to suicide. Lowlife scum.