Outrageous Injustice

[PurpleMustReign]

Who can argue with reasoning like that? Perhaps you'd like more arranged marriages and marriages of convenience as well? Fathers, trade your daughters to your business partners! It worked for centuries...

Jim

What would they get in return?!

[Hunter Morrow]

I'm not saying forced marriages or convenience marriages or anything like that, just age of consent and marriage reform is all.
The facts are plain though. People have always been sexually active, you can't legislate people into behaving the way you want effectively. I just want an end to the insanity that is Sexual Prohibition.

[wang_chi7]

I'm not saying forced marriages or convenience marriages or anything like that, just age of consent and marriage reform is all.
The facts are plain though. People have always been sexually active, you can't legislate people into behaving the way you want effectively. I just want an end to the insanity that is Sexual Prohibition.

I totally agree about legalizing morality. For adults. AFAIC what people do to themselves and with themselves is their own business and shouldn't be punished.

But minors are minors for a reason, they don't really understand the consequences of their actions; sure they know right and wrong and such but only because of what they are told. They don't quite get the total picture (generally speaking.) And no, I'm not some old guy that doesn't trust kids; I'm 22. I just know from my own experiences as a child and from people I know that kids are really bad decision makers. Even when they think things through. Experience goes a long ways in understanding consequences.

[Mothman]

I'm not saying forced marriages or convenience marriages or anything like that, just age of consent and marriage reform is all.

I was being sarcastic, giving you a hard time about "centuries" comment.

The facts are plain though. People have always been sexually active, you can't legislate people into behaving the way you want effectively. I just want an end to the insanity that is Sexual Prohibition.

So eliminate the age of consent altogether...

In all seriousness, keep in mind that some laws are in place to protect people, not simply to control them. As wang chi pointed out, minors are considered minors for a reason. Most 15 year olds are intelligent enough to make decisions but they aren't necessarily experienced enough to make good decisions or to fully weigh the consequences of actions before taking them. They also lack emotional maturity and often make an emotional decision when they should be making an intellectual one.

Jim

[Cliff]

You mean to tell me that you have NEVER broken the law? Any law? You never roll through a stop sign, speed a little on the freeway, or spit your gum out on the side walk or in the grass?

While I have to agree with one of Swaps points; about the kid not taking the plea. He kills me with this "You broke the law!!" stance he has, as if he's Judge Dredd.

The difference between 15 and 17 are not huge enough for this to land someone 10 years in jail.

Oh no, teenagers had sex, someone call the thought police!!

[DanAS1]

Throughout most of history people were married by their mid teens so its not like it would be the end of the world or anything. Seemed to work out fine for most of Europe and even America for a few centuries.

The relevance of that? Should we be using antiquated lifestyles as the cue for our laws? If so, I'd be threatened with death, exile, ghettoization or forcible conversion. That seemed "to work out fine for most of Europe" for many a century. And as for America, we had slavery and the Trail of Tears.

I realize politics is banned here, but as a parent, I would be much less offended by just about anything any of you could say about political issues involving adults than I am about your willingness to condemn children for making decisions that you don't happen to agree with. And I do mean "condemn," because when you make something a crime, you are talking about ruining someone's future.

Have some kids, folks. Have some kids who aren't little Mr. or Ms. Perfect. Because if you have enough kids, and if your genes or your wife's genes are the least bit non-standard, your kids won't all be Ken and Barbie Dolls no matter how Michael Brady-like you think you'd be as a parent. Then, my friends, THEN get on your high horse and condemn other people's children. I dare you!

This is reminding me of the chicken hawks -- sounding the trumpets for war, but not bothering to enlist or to enlist their children.

[glg]

So lowering the age of consent is going to solve those problems?

IMHO, 15 isn't old enough. Maybe that's more difficult to see when you're 19 or 20 but I definitely think it's too young.

Your argument that the girl at 15 is too young is all fine and good, but he was only 17. Why is it all legally his fault? If he was 20, this would be a different story, but he's 17. Isn't he a minor too?

[Hunter Morrow]

What the hell was that for?
I'm the one who has been strenuously condemning the sentence for pages. How you get that I'm an anti-semite or approved of Indian treatment or slavery is beyond me.
Sex is sensationalized to an absurd degree in America. Teenage sex rates, STD rates, and abortion rates, and pregnancy rates are all steeply down. In fact, they're the lowest they've been in decades. That doesn't stop people with more fake outrage than sense from enforcing draconian laws it seems.

[Mothman]

Your argument that the girl at 15 is too young is all fine and good, but he was only 17. Why is it all legally his fault? If he was 20, this would be a different story, but he's 17. Isn't he a minor too?

Yes, he is but the discussion had moved somewhat beyond that specific case. FWIW, I don't think he deserves to be in jail. His ten year sentence is clearly an injustice and the law that put him there should have been modified long ago.

Jim

[wang_chi7]

Yes, he is but the discussion had moved somewhat beyond that specific case. FWIW, I don't think he deserves to be in jail. His ten year sentence is clearly an injustice and the law that put him there should have been modified long ago.

Jim

Exactly. In all the arguing we kind of stepped away from the case at hand. I don't think too many of us agree with the law, we just view the big picture differently.

[Cliff]

Exactly. In all the arguing we kind of stepped away from the case at hand. I don't think too many of us agree with the law, we just view the big picture differently.

Definitely. While those kind of laws are definitely complex to both define properly and uphold, I don't think anybody wants this kid to be in jail for ten years ... or even more than a few days or weeks at most (If you agree with the law or are a part of the group that made it)

[DanAS1]

What the hell was that for?
I'm the one who has been strenuously condemning the sentence for pages. How you get that I'm an anti-semite or approved of Indian treatment or slavery is beyond me.
Sex is sensationalized to an absurd degree in America. Teenage sex rates, STD rates, and abortion rates, and pregnancy rates are all steeply down. In fact, they're the lowest they've been in decades. That doesn't stop people with more fake outrage than sense from enforcing draconian laws it seems.

I wasn't directing my comments to you. I was reading a lot of comments -- many of whom bothered me -- and I simply hit "reply" after the last comment I read. There were multiple people who made statements I didn't care for and I didn't want to personalize my response. If you were one of those saying that the idea of criminalizing this conduct is insanity, I clearly wasn't responding to you at all.

[DanAS1]

What the hell was that for?
I'm the one who has been strenuously condemning the sentence for pages. How you get that I'm an anti-semite or approved of Indian treatment or slavery is beyond me.
Sex is sensationalized to an absurd degree in America. Teenage sex rates, STD rates, and abortion rates, and pregnancy rates are all steeply down. In fact, they're the lowest they've been in decades. That doesn't stop people with more fake outrage than sense from enforcing draconian laws it seems.

I'm trying to find the comment I specifically replied to, even though I had many in mind. I haven't yet and I have to get back to work. Suffice it to say that if you've been taking the position that we shouldn't be criminalizing this kids' sexual behavior, we don't have a disagreement.

[MWNANCe]

Looks like this has finally been fixed!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/11/teen.s ... index.html

[vikingman]

This isn't over with just yet. The Attorney General for the state of Georgia is going to appeal which will keep the kid in jail until a ruling is made on that appeal.