Can we strike a balance here?
I agree that children need to be protected.
But the latest wave of busting people for age of consent violations has had witch-hunt style collateral damage.
There are (many) cases where both parties involved were above the age of consent when the older person was busted.
In the case of high school teachers; if the student is above the age of consent, this is more of an issue or professional disciplinary action (banning them from being a teacher, firing them, etc.) rather than an issue of the law.
If a person is of the age of consent and gives verbal consent in writing
Then they are above the age of consent, and have given verbal consent in writing.
You can't say we live in a free country if you bust people for exercising those freedoms
You can't have it both ways.
People on the extreme left want open pedophilia AND THIS IS IMMORAL, ILLEGAL, AND UNETHICAL
People on the extreme right want a theocracy where you have to be a married 30 year old limp dick accountant to have sex for the first time.
I think we can do better than ruining honest peoples lives while the real demons (child traffickers) run amok.
Thoughts?
Or throw stones at me?
Also; The Bible has no age of consent.
A 16 year old can drive a car, get a bank account, work a job, go to college early if they excel, and start a business and even get married in some jurisdictions. Basically a young adult.
This is a very complex topic.
You are absolutely correct in questioning it
Because convicting men who date teenagers appeases the normies
while actual child abuse, rape, and trafficking go unchecked.
You are also right about those cases. My wife is almost 8 years younger than me. I would have gladly skipped my first serious relationship with a girl my age that left me nearly broken and dead to be with my younger wife earlier. We both would have saved a lot of heartbreak if we had just met earlier.
My parents who were married 36 years before my father passed away, had an 18 year old age gap. Teenagers used to get married, have kids, and the world did not suffer for it.
Then there is our Trump and Melania. Truly meant to be together, and they have a huge age gap.
Liberals love to throw around arguments about power dynamics...
We know the truth. Marriage is modeled after the relationship between Christ and the church. There kind of HAS to be a power dynamic or else the relationship does not work.
Yes it is a complex topic.
God bless you for finding your ideal wife.
It is better to find a young wife who is still close in age, earlier in life, if you are a good match. Makes for a happier dating life as a whole. A lot less baggage.
"Teenagers used to get married, have kids, and the world did not suffer for it."
Thank you for your intelligent response.
I thought I would get stoned to death on here.
Your story is an example of what happens to millions of people on an individual level. There are millions of threads on reddt and quora debating this issue, for example.
I know people who married thier high school sweetheart and are still together for life.
On a macro scale we need laws, but the US is a very confused nation about where to draw the hard line. This is what age of consent laws are supposed to do.
Good point on Trump and Melania.
There are ethical age gap relationships that happen all the time.
It's God's decision, and that of the individual to grow and mature and select who is a good match for them.
Not that of a local crooked liberal judge.
What holds back teenagers from being mature responsible young adults is the school system, not some facade of morality where free men and women are jailed for exercising thier natural rights while obeying the law
The same 'my body my choice' crowd will mob an individual woman for sleeping with whom she pleases even (or especially) if she is a conservative 17 year old with a genius IQ who goes to church and works a job and has a car that she paid for.
Unless she's a 35 year old vaxinated gender confused pink haired tattooed whore from manhattan. Then the leftists are totally ok with it.
And traffickers still run amok.
People used to get married in thier teen years ranging from Biblical times up untill recent decades.
What changed, improved morality?
No
Rockefeller funded schools, that hold back the progress of young minds eager to grow up.
I am of the zero wiggle room type. Any adult should know how a relationship can become sexual and the impact that one change can have and NOT put a child in that position. Say what you want about the bible. They get legally married then fine. They arent, there is no place in the bible making it permissable. I don't see all these pedos running out to get married to the kids they prey on.
Agree
I have the same hardline stance. About children.
A legal aged teenager is not a child. They are not the same.
Thats what this Q movement and ultra conservatives are confused about.
Punishing a biological process only traumatizes and fractures society further.
QUALIFIED, unbiased, Relationship Counseling is a better solution
The ethical conversation and psychological conversation about why someone would want an extreme age gap is a matter for professionals to sort out in counseling.
Obviously if a person is actually being predatory they need to be punished.
The Constitution was written to protect the individual.
There are rare cases where, in terms of emotional maturity, an 18 year old is a good match for a 29 year old, as insane as that sounds its basic biology/psychology.
or a 21 year old and a 32 year old. Etc.
If the young person is a genius, for instance, who cannot matchmake with people thier own age.
A minor cannot enter into a legal contract
Correct. But a 16 year old can get married with parents permission. Its a simple process with the local court. An 18 year old certainly can.
Our society's horrible educational system holds people back.
The internet has exposed that even teenagers with computer skills can be entrepreneurs on youtube.
16 year olds make a killing in fortnite, for example. Effing Fortnite. And they have thier own car, apartment, etc.
Parents are still involved untill they are 18, but they are granted responsibilities and can legally consent to dating.
are we going to jail teenagers for prom night?
Hardly a free society in that case, if you ask me.