Iliamna1 wrote:
The question here is LEGAL consent to have sex. I hope everyone here can setback and take a deep, cleansing breath. There are several important issues not raised here. Why is it that anyone thinks a 14 year-old girl can give legal consent to an adult male? I'm assuming in this scenario the girl still lives at home with her parents and is totally dependent on them for food, clothing, shelter, education and so forth. If she were to get pregnant, get a venereal disease, get an abortion (successfully or botched), or choose to keep the baby the fact is IN MOST CASES, the parents are the ones left out hung to dry and pay for all the subsequent expenses. There are also the psychological trauma to a woman who is just too young emotionally to have an intimate relationship. And statistically, despite her declarations of how much she loves him, rarely do these relationships end up in a stable, married relationship and they virtually all end between 6 to 12 months.
I managed to stay a virgin until I was engaged in my early 20's. I never had an abortion, or gave birth to an unwanted baby. I've never had an STD or been humiliated when I went to a party and ran into someone I shouldn't have slept with. There's a lot to be said for abstinence I also don't have to deal with feelings of guilt
Parents are supposed to protect and defend their children. Why, as a society, do we make it more difficult?
The question here is LEGAL consent to have sex. I... (
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What you speak of is “moral conduct” not statutory laws governing legal consent....
Not that I disagree with what you say but the “ laws” do not defend on the bases of moral issues but rather the laws goVerning each state..
Consider please a look at the state laws noting even their variance..
What Is the Age of Consent?
Federal law makes it criminal to engage in a sexual act with another person who is between the age of 12 and 16 if they are at least four years younger than you. Each state takes a different approach as the age of consent has ranged from 10 to 18. Some states, such as California and New York, set an age at which all sexual intercourse is considered statutory rape. For example, a state might set the age of consent at 18. In this hypothetical state, two seventeen-year-olds who had consensual sex could both theoretically be convicted of statutory rape.
What Is Statutory Rape?
Statutory rape occurs when a person over the age of consent engages in sexual intercourse with someone under the statutory age of consent, also known as a minor. In most states, the age of consent has been arbitrarily designated by statute. However, this age of consent varies widely from state to state. Statutory rape is a strict liability crime, meaning that the consent of the younger person or mistake about their age is not a defense.
Other states imply a different method which, like the federal statute, takes into account the relative ages of both people. In these states, such as Texas, the age of consent is determined by age differentials between the two persons and limited by a minimum age. For example, a state might set a minimum age of 14 but limit consent to partners who are within 3 years of their age. This would allow a sixteen-year-old to lawfully have sex with a fourteen-year-old, but make it criminal for an eighteen-year-old to have sex with that same fourteen-year-old.
What Is the Age of Consent?
Federal law makes it criminal to engage in a sexual act with another person who is between the age of 12 and 16 if they are at least four years younger than you. Each state takes a different approach as the age of consent has ranged from 10 to 18. Some states, such as California and New York, set an age at which all sexual intercourse is considered statutory rape. For example, a state might set the age of consent at 18. In this hypothetical state, two seventeen-year-olds who had consensual sex could both theoretically be convicted of statutory rape.
Other states imply a different method which, like the federal statute, takes into account the relative ages of both people. In these states, such as Texas, the age of consent is determined by age differentials between the two persons and limited by a minimum age. For example, a state might set a minimum age of 14 but limit consent to partners who are within 3 years of their age. This would allow a sixteen-year-old to lawfully have sex with a fourteen-year-old, but make it criminal for an eighteen-year-old to have sex with that same fourteen-year-old.
https://www.thesurvivoralliance.com/legal-age-consent-50-states/https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/statutory-rape-the-age-of-consent.html