More "age of consent" nonsense

[Fragilityh14]

age of consent laws are insane. This is certainly something I hope to agitate against when in New Hampshire, though it's really hard to say what the best way to do that would be.

[J’raxis 270145]

age of consent laws are insane. This is certainly something I hope to agitate against when in New Hampshire, though it's really hard to say what the best way to do that would be.

We're already working on some stuff here, albeit slowly.

Check out posts by me and LaurieP, and the links in my sig to CURSOR and Moral Outrage. Laurie has been working the legislature for a number of years now, trying to make the statutory rape laws more sensible, and I'm helping out with this now.

One of the FreeTalkLive guys, Ian I think, is also a big opponent of AoC laws and probably has some ideas, although I've not talked directly him about this topic yet.

[KBCraig]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Teen+charged+in+underage+sex+incident&articleId=0bf55a89-dbba-489f-8555-cc30d7e81e71

Teen charged in underage sex incident

By GRETA CUYLER
Union Leader Correspondent

WEARE – A 17-year-old boy who admitted to having sex with his underage girlfriend has been charged with misdemeanor sexual assault.

Damon C. Hadley, 17, of Henniker was arrested on Oct. 9 and released on $5,000 personal recognizance bail, according to Weare police.

His trial is scheduled for Nov. 27 in Goffstown District Court.

If convicted of the Class A misdemeanor, Hadley could face up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

In addition to the criminal charge, Hadley is recovering from a beating by the girl's father. On Sept. 10, the father stormed the high school parking lot and hit the 17-year-old, leaving him with cuts, bruises and two stitches to his face.

"We are a society of laws, not of vigilantism," said Skip Campbell, Hadley's attorney. "I hope that people will take the opportunity to look at the facts in this case as they come out and reserve their harsh judgment."

He described his client as a nice and thoughtful young man, who works hard in school and has a part-time job fixing motorcycles.

Hadley and his girlfriend had been dating since June, he said.

"This situation has profoundly affected him and confused him," Campbell said. "He certainly did not deserve what this man did to him, which is outrageous under any circumstances."

That morning, the girl failed to show up for her first-period class. School officials and then the girl's parents began to search for her, to no avail. Hadley and the girl returned to school at the same time, through separate entrances.

The teens later admitted to having sex during the school day, but off school property, Weare Police Detective Lou Chatel said.

Under state law, a person can't consent to sex until the age of 16. The girl is 15 1/2.

In some circumstances, and if their age difference was three years or more, the youth could have faced a felony charge.

The girl's father reported the sexual assault to police, then drove to John Stark Regional High School and attacked Hadley in the parking lot, in full view of students and parents just as school was letting out around 3 p.m.

The father was arrested and charged with simple assault, a Class B felony.

The girl has filed a restraining order against Hadley. She and her siblings have also transferred high schools.

"I don't think it's that unusual that a 17-year-old is having sex with a 15-year-old," Michael Iacopino, president of the New Hampshire Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It seems to me this is the perfect case where prosecutorial discretion ought to be used so we don't have a travesty of justice."

Detective Chatel said Hadley will likely have to report his arrest on college and job applications.

"If the girl's father had a concern that she was having sex with another student at her high school, the proper approach would have been to speak with his daughter and to avail himself to resources in their community," said Campbell. "His response should not have been to lash out in anger about a situation that he clearly didn't understand."

[jsorens]

Age of consent laws are obviously appropriate & necessary, but this seems to be a case where they need to be tweaked in a reasonable direction.

[J’raxis 270145]

Age of consent laws are obviously appropriate & necessary, but this seems to be a case where they need to be tweaked in a reasonable direction.

Age-of-consent laws were only created about 150 years ago. For some reason they weren't necessary prior to that, so I don't think they're very necessary nowadays. Notably, if one wants to return our government to something resembling the government of 1787, these laws would have to go.

[This topic has been debated endlessly already (for example, I jumped into this thread, and I'm sure there are others), so I don't want to veer this thread off into another debate. But, one blunt comment deserves another, so there's my reply.]

[EJinCT]

A fifteen year-old should be considered an adult.

Don't be overprotective of your children. Raise them right and you won't have to worry about your fifteen year-old doing it with some dude.

Why 15; is there something special about that age? 

Why not go by the saying old enough to bleed, old enough to breed?

Whether a parent is strict or not, who is anyone to say how someone should raise their children? ( I'm not advocating abuse here  )

It seems to be an issue of responsibility to me.

Who is responsible for children and the choices they make?

In this case, hypothetically and regardless of upbringing, if one of these children, after choosing to engage in sex, developed AIDS, who's responsibility would it be to deal with the consequences?

[J’raxis 270145]

A fifteen year-old should be considered an adult.

Don't be overprotective of your children. Raise them right and you won't have to worry about your fifteen year-old doing it with some dude.

Why 15; is there something special about that age? 

Nothing, that was just the age of the girl in the article. A ten-year-old should be considered an adult if they can act as such.

Why not go by the saying old enough to bleed, old enough to breed?

That's a rather crude way of putting it, but that's how it's been throughout most of human history.

Whether a parent is strict or not, who is anyone to say how someone should raise their children? ( I'm not advocating abuse here  )

It seems to be an issue of responsibility to me.

Who is responsible for children and the choices they make?

In this case, hypothetically and regardless of upbringing, if one of these children, after choosing to engage in sex, developed AIDS, who's responsibility would it be to deal with the consequences?

Right. Wherever responsibility falls, it's a private matter, either up to the "child" in question or their parents. The government should no more be protecting people against their own sexual decisions than their decision to do drugs, or anything else to/with themselves.

[EJinCT]

Why not go by the saying old enough to bleed, old enough to breed?

That's a rather crude way of putting it.

Sorry.

I'm rather blunt and straightforward; tact is not one of my strong traits, but I'm working on it. 


Btw, I wholly agree that age is just a number and does not address ones level of maturity. IME, everyone is unique in that regard.

[lildog]

A ten-year-old should be considered an adult if they can act as such.

That's the problem with age related laws... actually I should say one of the problems.

I've meet teens who were mature and intelligent, yet I also meet some 20 somethings who were immature and idiots.  Legally we allow those 20 somethings to go out into the world making bad choices and screwing up their lives yet those teens who are acting much more irresponsibly we treat like they are unable to think for themselves.

The bigger problem though isn't so much picking an arbitrary age and considering it the age or majority... it's the inconsistency with the law as far as what that age is. 
Based on the data in this thread it sounds like consent for sex is legal at 16,
NH now allows anyone to be old enough to get abortions without permission from parents,
drinking is 21,
Smoking cigarettes is 18,
driving is 15 and a half for a permit yet you can't drive at night until 18 (at least in NY, my kids aren't driving yet so I'm not sure what the law is here),
you are considered mature enough to know who to vote for as a leader of this country at 18,
you can fight and die in the military for this country at 18...

The laws are all over the place regarding age.  That to me is the bigger problem.

[EJinCT]

Based on the data in this thread it sounds like consent for sex is legal at 16,

14 in Hawaii, as long as there isn't more than 7 years difference in age.

No clue what the age is anywhere else.

[J’raxis 270145]

Based on the data in this thread it sounds like consent for sex is legal at 16,

14 in Hawaii, as long as there isn't more than 7 years difference in age.

No clue what the age is anywhere else.

It varies heavily from state to state. Sixteen is typical nowadays. New Hampshire is currently sixteen, with people ages 13–16 treated specially; see RSA 632-A. Also, this page, at the site in my sig, documents all the states' laws.

[J’raxis 270145]

A ten-year-old should be considered an adult if they can act as such.

That's the problem with age related laws... actually I should say one of the problems.

I've meet teens who were mature and intelligent, yet I also meet some 20 somethings who were immature and idiots.  Legally we allow those 20 somethings to go out into the world making bad choices and screwing up their lives yet those teens who are acting much more irresponsibly we treat like they are unable to think for themselves.

The bigger problem though isn't so much picking an arbitrary age and considering it the age or majority... it's the inconsistency with the law as far as what that age is. 
Based on the data in this thread it sounds like consent for sex is legal at 16,
NH now allows anyone to be old enough to get abortions without permission from parents,
drinking is 21,
Smoking cigarettes is 18,
driving is 15 and a half for a permit yet you can't drive at night until 18 (at least in NY, my kids aren't driving yet so I'm not sure what the law is here),
you are considered mature enough to know who to vote for as a leader of this country at 18,
you can fight and die in the military for this country at 18...

The laws are all over the place regarding age.  That to me is the bigger problem.

Indeed. I've suggested before that all these age-based laws be replaced with some sort of competency test, administered to anyone who wishes to take it, up to a certain maximum age (perhaps 18 or 21) at which point one is automatically assumed to be an adult even if they never took the competency test.

Obviously, this is a statist solution and something I only recommend in the short- and medium-term. Ideally, the government would be completely out of regulating all of the things you mention.