Should the age of consent be lower than 18? Why or why not?

[coloradodem2005]

This is not a sex thread, I am just trying to ask a question.

[tridim]

1. Depends

Age of consent should be taken on a case by case basis. If a girl matures earlier than 18, she should be able to have consentual sex without fear of her partner being arrested.

[Jesus Saves]

2. This is one way it should be modified

If a nineteen or twenty yr. old has consenual sex with a sixteen yr. old that should not be a crime, or at least not a sex crime, the kind that makes you a 'sex offender' for life.

In some states, I think they make this kind of exception.

[last_texas_dem]

3. That's a tough one

I feel differently when it comes to different situations. Like, I understand why it's what it is when I think about, say, a twenty-five year old dating a sixteen year old and the consequences of them having sex. But then I don't personally see how two seventeen year olds having sex is much different than two nineteen year olds having sex... I'd probably keep it what is, though.

[_TJ_]

4. I'd go for 16

16 seems to work ok in the UK. We have 17 here in Ireland and many
teens are doing it before that age :wow:

Edit: Also, I say either you are an adult or you aren't - I don't
think the age of your partner should come into it.

If you can do it at 17, it should be legal whether your partner
is 17,19,25 or 65!

[slackmaster]

5. It ain't broke, and 18 is the year of majority in most respects

Why change it?

[Goldom]

6. Actually, it is, most places.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_consent#United_States_of_America

[asthmaticeog]

7. So how old is she?

:evilgrin:

[StopTheMorans]

8. .

:thumbsup:

[coloradodem2005]

10. Actually, I prefer older women myself.

;)

[saltpoint]

9. Good question. My 10th Grade English Teacher --

-- would not let us read ROMEO AND JULIET because of the incident of premarital sex. We were permitted to read JULIUS CAESAR, with its blood-drenched pages about betrayal and assassination, though. No moral problem there (!)

I can't see throwing Romeo and Juliet in the slammer for loving each other and my thoughts on your question go back to Middle Ages practices of marrying off girls at what we would consider very young ages to some Count or Lord or other -- someone whose affiliation might strengthen both families' political stance or land holdings, etc.

In that case, I can't help but think the girl was not loved but simply used as a real estate pawn for political gain. With Romeo and Juliet, I come away every time thinking they loved each other more deeply than anybody ever loved anyone. I'm not interested in whether Romeo or Juliet are "minors" but I am enchanted with the tenderness they showed to each other.

From the web it looks like consent laws differ from country to country, even state to state. I don't know if calling it an arbitrary judgment really helps the conflict but at the very least, I'd say that love ought to be involved, and not real estate or politics.

[ZenLefty]

11. It's a tough question.

I think you're talking about the 33 year old teacher and her sexual relation with a former student when he was 17.

I don't think the issue is so black and white. It's not like there's a wall slammed down on the 18th birthday, that divides childhood from adulthood. When I turned 18, I didn't suddenly become wiser, more mature, and more responsible, and able to make better decisions. In fact, I was probably even more of an asshole than I was when I was 17.

I think here in Colorado the age of consent is 17. That sounds fair to me. By that time, many teens are already sexually active. It just seems wrong to charge an adult with rape when they had consentual sex with someone less than a year away from that magic wall of adulthood. It's not necessarily appropriate, but the adult in that case may have to live with a sex offender record the rest of her life. I'm not sure there's much justice in that.

[Beaverhausen]

12. I voted no and furthermore I think the legal driving age should be raised

to 18, too.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

13. i think it's just rubbish to have age of consent 18

the teens are on it before that age (many at least). Why make rules to just have them broken? we could as well prohibit them to breathe.. with the same useful effect.

Switzerland its 16

[Hardrada]

14. I miss my Swiss

In Iowa it's 16 too. Not that it matters anymore to antiques like yrs. truly.

[SarahB]

15. Depends on the state I think.

In CT (at least when I was that age), it was 16. :7

[tjwmason]

16. It's 16 here - as is the age for marriage.

Though a 16 or 17 year-old needs parental consent (I think).

It makes (to my mind) diddly-squat sense to allow two people to marry, but not allow them to consumate.

Obviously tons of young-uns are having it off way before 16...