Age of consent

I believe Spain upped theirs to 16 last year?

Overall though, it actually kinda concerns me that amount of green on that map! 12 or 13 is too young.. surely?!

 

^This is very important.

I said 18. I feel like most 16 year olds are mature enough to consent, but there are some exceptions.

 

I would like to remind the folks here that we're talking about the criminal law, which means we're saying that the State should hurt people for doing things that some of you have pretty ill-defined reservations about.

The notion that there's something criminal about an 18 and a 40 year-old having sex was appalling.

 

16, should probably be the "age of consent" for everthing, drinking, voting etc..

 

18, adults should not be having sex with minors unless it is an 18/17 relationship.

 

And what should the legal status of 16-18 relationships be? Incarcerate the 18-year-old?

 

I said 18. With the person saying equating that to having the legality of operating a car at 16, I feel that that should be raised too. It's still 18 in New York State.

 

I would say 18. Just because that's how it is here and I haven't had a problem with it. However I do think there should be exceptions for people who are together and are very close in age

 

Should be 16. By that time, most of us has gone through puberty and know more about sex.

 

There's plenty of serious and well thought out posts, so, anything I say would either be mirrored or emphasizing. So, I'll just say this:

The government never once, asked me my age, when it started fucking me.

I apologize for bringing humor into this, but something has to balance the mood.

 

Would be tempted to say 15, assuming there's not a huge age-gap, but it's an odd number and everyone knows odd numbers are bad :\

In all seriousness, it's pretty much what I'd go with. (16 is ok too, though)

 

I am going 17...It's real hairy for a guy, regardless of gender/orientation to answer this safely unless they literally say like 30...but I feel 17 is safe

 

I think that by the age of 16 you can expect a person to be able to look after themselves and make the right choice, I think any lower and they may be coerced into doing something they regret in later life, also I can't imagine a 12-14 year old having a kid.

 

I think age of consent laws should operate on a sliding scale instead of being a fixed age, so I cannot answer the poll since I'm not in favor of having one big cutoff.

I agree with Pret Allez that we should keep in mind that we're talking about criminal law. Many teens are prosecuted and put on sex offender registries for the rest of their lives for having sex with their boy/girlfriends that's consensual (to the degree that sex at that stage can be consensual).

I also think there should be legal protections built into the law for times when someone has sex with a person they reasonably believe is probably at or above the legal age of consent. After all, very few people check IDs before having sex.

EDIT: If I had to pick one cutoff, I'd probably pick 16. While that's very young, if I have to pick one age at which we criminalize having sex with someone having sex before that age, I'd rather air on the younger side.

EDIT: In my state, California, two 17 year old who have sex are both considered criminals by law, which is ridiculous.

 

In all but two Australian States(Tasmania and South Australia, 17) the age of consent is 16. I am happy for it to remain at sixteen due to sexual predators and maturity. That said, children aged say 12 to 16 should not be punished by the Court system for having sex.

---------- Post added 12th Aug 2014 at 12:45 PM ----------

I agree with the age at 16 despite my entry into an active bisexual but mostly homosexual sexuality at the age of 12. I did know what I was doing and without coercion. That said, 16 is the right age due to maturity and sexual predators.

 

I voted for 16. I think there are some people who mature quickly and can handle a sexual relationship safely at that age. If you can strap 2 tons of steel to your ass and aim it at people at 75 mph, you can legally bang people.

 

Before reading the OP and the poll, I automatically thought it should be 16. In most U.S. states, you can drive at that age. Most people have completed puberty. Your judgment may not be the best, but who can say that it will be better at 18?

The other thing I'd like to know is what happens, if the law is sitting at 18, and the person is 17 and 6 months old or 17 and 10 months old? I had some *interesting* situations occur when I was in my seventeen-ish year. Sixteen also makes it all more clear cut, at least for me. I could see saying 15 years and 8 months as being ridiculously young.

 

I think it should be older. It's hard to say really... I think the law is right that older people shouldn't be hooking up with teens. That's immoral in my opinion. But are you gonna be able to stop two teens from hooking up? No way. I was nineteen when I lost my virginity...much older than most people in my area. But looking back, I really don't think I was emotianally ready to deal with sex even at nineteen. I think I should have waited till I was twenty two. I know that sounds old! But in this day and age people are rushing to have sex when that isn't really necessary. I think teens should think more about abstinance until they are older and maturer because most teens just aren't mature enough. But is this gonna happen? Of course not... teens have those raging hormones. But again, I really don't think there should be big age gaps between partners.

 

Unless you are referring to my post I don't see that one. I don't see anything wrong with 18 and 40. At 18 a person is generally out of high school and considered an adult who is starting their life. I would have a huge problem with someone who is 40 having sex with a 16 year old who still has two years of high school left (which is actually legal here) and I think the state SHOULD hurt the 40 year old in that situation.

18 as an age of consent (the age that people of all ages will not be punished for having sex with you) is perfectly reasonable I chose 17 only because some people actually do graduate high school at that age. However I do agree that some people that are 15-16 are ready to have sex so I believe that the age of consent should be 17-18 and that they should have the "Romeo and Juliet laws" in place to allow people who have been dating in high school to continue dating if one of them graduates.