You might be interested in this
thread. My stance on it is that age of consent laws pose little to no threat to non-abusive and non-exploitative relationships while acting as a safety net that protects younger people from being preyed on by older folks, and that, consequently, any attempt to lower the age is seen as sketchy and potentially unethical.
edited 26th May '11 11:51:03 PM by kashchei
And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?
Ah, didn't notice that thread.
'Twas a while ago.
And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?
Always Right
One thing weird about it though...who decided on the number 18?
Why not higher/lower? There are many older people who aren't mature years after turning 18. And many who are mature well before 18.
In fact, the age of consent in most countries is either higher or lower, 18 rarely shows up. So what's so special about the number 18?
That being said, I remember the entire class joking about it back in 5th grade. The girls would tease the male teacher for some reason. And passing teachers would pretend to be an officers arresting the poor guy whenever they walk by.
edited 27th May '11 12:14:40 AM by Signed
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
Well, I didn't trek through the laws in every country, but I think 18 is a fair avarage in most western countries.
Hollywood. The Age of Consent in California is 18.
And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?
Always Right
I guess I also have them to thanks for everything unrelated to sex have their age of consents be set to 16-18...
Voting...drinking...driving...driving I understand.
But why voting?
But I'm curious. What happens if you have pictures of yourself when you were 12. And you show it to your girl/boyfriend. I'd like to see what happens if the authorities found out?
Is it possible to victimize yourself?
edited 27th May '11 12:23:09 AM by Signed
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
Fuzzy Orange Doomsayer
^ I seem to recall a case where a girl was arrested for distributing "child porn" of herself. Don't remember her name, though.
The more common thing is that a 19-year-old gets arrested for having sex with a 17-year-old.
That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful
Always Right
That's probably a hoax.
How can distributing pictures of yourself be a crime?
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
Age of consent is arbitrary, no doubt about that. Some people are mature enough both physically and mentally much earlier than (whatever age of consent is set), and some not reach it even after reaching an age of consent.
However, as arbitrary as it is, some age has to be set. And, as been correctly pointed out, an age of consent poses no threat for non-abusive relationships. Seriously, people can wait a couple of years to have sex. So, yes, an age is arbitrary, but the attempts to lower it understandably look...shifty.
If we disagree, that much, at least, we have in common
"The more common thing is that a 19-year-old gets arrested for having sex with a 17-year-old."
I doubt that's very common at all, seeing as 17 is (or is above) the age of consent in many states and countries, and many states have Romeo and Juliet provisions of two years or so.
edited 27th May '11 12:25:46 AM by kashchei
And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?
Fuzzy Orange Doomsayer
^^^ Found it.
edited 27th May '11 12:27:03 AM by feotakahari
That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful
Always Right
It's happened not too long ago though (2007)
Child abuse is pretty bad...but no one can deny people are overreacting a wee bit much...
^...I honestly thought that was just a hoax. I even joked about it because there was no way it could be true at all. It's just so...unrealistic
Okay then. Let me pull back the law a bit more. Can a parent be arrested if they have naked pictures of their children* ?
edited 27th May '11 12:41:23 AM by Signed
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
She was fifteen, and he was black. I hate to say it, but I'm with Al Sharpton on this one.
And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Some beach and swimming pool ban parent for photographing or videotaping their children.
Always Right
Well...maybe....for swimming pools, it's for the sake of the other parents wanting some privacy.
I've known guys who get really riled up when other people taking pictures just happen to have their girl in their picture. So it wouldn't be too surprising for parents to feel uncomfortable that others might accidentally snap their kids in a picture I guess...of course, in that case, why the hell would you bring your kids to the beach in the first place...crushed my own theory
Camera flashes irritates people's eyes.
edited 27th May '11 12:54:24 AM by Signed
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
One Winged Egret
For the record, registered child sex offenders can't live within a certain distance of schools, libraries, parks, etc. Which means that in certain cities they can't live anywhere because the zones overlap. So that guy who had consensual sex with a slightly younger girl is, in addition to being put in jail for 10 years, also effectively exiled from a number of cities possibly including his hometown.
The system is kind of broken right now.
edited 27th May '11 12:58:35 AM by Clarste
I agree that the system needs fixing in terms of having clearer and more lenient Romeo and Juliet laws, but I wouldn't do away with the age of consent.
And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?
Always Right
It's impossible to fix now. What politician would risk political suicide?
The funny/sad thing about laws. The longer they've been around, the harder they are to change. Sort of like clay.
Though I do agree there should be an age of consent law to prevent grown adults from sticking their johnson into month old babies...
pfft...as if kids go to libraries these days.
There aren't even Hot Librarian s there. Just old women sitting around reading books.
edited 27th May '11 1:09:40 AM by Signed
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
"It's impossible to fix now. What politician would risk political suicide?"
It's not impossible to fix. If a case gets bumped up to the Supreme Court, and there's a sufficient push from the people to change it, it needn't remain as it is now.
And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?
Always Right
You'd think anyone would risk their job to fix it?
Maybe I have next to no faith towards politicians. But in the world of politics. The one and only thing that matters is public support. Even if many people can see what you're trying to do, your enemies can still use it against you. You'd be "that one guy who tried to change the age of consent laws in a way that doesn't increase the numbers".
Obama: I propose we finally fix out screwed up age of consent laws!
Other Parties: You see! I told you! He wants to have sex with all your children! Obama is a pedophile! AND a socialist!
edited 27th May '11 1:14:30 AM by Signed
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
One Winged Egret
Judges can do whatever the hell they want because the position is basically for life. So if it went to the Supreme Court I could see it changing.
Some link :
Parents Sue Walmart After Kids' Bath Photos Fiasco Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2009/09/17/parents-sue-walmart-kids-bath-photos-fiasco#ixzz1NXSmOiij
Parents banned from taking pictures of their own children at sports day http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/realityzone/UFNparentsbannedpics.html
Texas Officials Arrest Parents and Take Away Their Children for Taking Pictures in a Bathtub and Breastfeeding http://jonathanturley.org/2009/08/17/texas-officials-arrest-parents-and-take-away-their-children-for-taking-pictures-of-their-children-in-a-bathtub-and-breastfeeding/
Always Right
...oh wow. Does this mean I'm well acquainted to a lot of dangerous sex offender and child pornographer?
Granted I'm not too surprised anymore after learning that you could get arrested for posting pictures of yourself.*
Wait...why!? They're not even wearing bloomers
◊. Those are regular T-Shirts and shorts.
And even if they're bloomers, it's not like theres anything showing...
The swimming pool and beach I can pull a reason out of my ass. But sporting events? I guess camera flashes just disrupts the children's performance.
edited 27th May '11 1:25:23 AM by Signed
"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."
So, for contrived, hard to expalin reasons, I ended up reading the Wikipedia article on Nambla last night (the symbology in their logo is kinda hilarious in a horrible way). Their history and goals didn't really fit me, but it did rise an ineresting question.
Why is it such a taboo to even suggest changing age of consent laws? Because, I know why the age of 18-ish has been agreed for as the limit, but it's a recent invention. It came about at the turn of the 19th and 20th century, as came most of what we call traditional values these days. That, and the laws were pretty loosely enforced until last few decades, and there's long been inconsistensies and double standards, as the laws are different between soveirgn states, and laws can be different, or differently interpreted based on the sex of partners involved.