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The age of consent in Florida is 18. I've always wondered what age people think the law should be set at for a girl/guy to consent to sex...in other words, what is old enough to make sexual decisions. Write your reasons too.
| 14 | 271 | |
| 15 | 94 | |
| 16 | 266 | |
| 17 | 48 | |
| 18 | 145 | |
| other (add a comment) | 50 |
16 seems a good age.
People will have sex when they want, regardless of the law though. The most important thing is education so whatever age, they're less likely to make a decision they regret.
Agreed, but I think the current law has very wide and opaque gaps. One state may differ by two years, so in one state an act could be a felony - while in another state, it's no problem.....and I think there's something wrong with that. I'm just tired of hearing in the news about 16yo and 18yo couples getting in trouble - even when it's absolutely consenting!
This could be a bit controversial, but I don't see the point of having an "age of consent" at all. Like it or not, there are 12 y/o who are perfectly ready to have sex, and they will if they want to. When considered critically, age of consent doesn't actually *protect* anyone, and the only point of law is to protect people.
You are right, but there definitely needs to be protection for younger people from much older ones. I mean, an 18 year old doesn't have any business having sex with a 12 year old, right? And especially not a 25 year old, or a 40 year old...they can't be doing that with someone so young. It's predatory. And unfortunately, the law is the only thing that holds some 40 year old creep from trying to do shit like this. If it wasn't against the law, guess how many 40 year olds would start 'falling madly in love' with 13 year olds? Far too many. Gross. And if it wasn't against the law, we wouldn't be able to prosecute a 40 year old crep that preys on a 12 year old.
I think there should be a country-wide standard. Here it's different in different states. I think a flat, no more than 2 year age gap, should be the law from 12 up untill 16, that sounds OK to me. Then from 17 and up, fair game. I say 12 because I don'
t think a 12 year old should be able to have sex with a 10 year old (although what's a law going to do in tis instance besides prosecute, I don't know....) A 12 year old with a 10 year old and so forth sounds as predatory to me as the 12 year old with a 30 year old, I think there's far too much of a gap there in terms of being 'ready'.
I agree. I'd support a law that said for an under 16 y/o, there should be a 1 year age difference maximum in either direction. For example, a 14 y/o could only give consent to a 13, 14 or 15 y/o. This would be active from birth, so, as gross as it sounds, a 4 y/o could have sex with a 3 y/o, although this would obviously not be encouraged. 16+ would be fair game. If a 13 y/o and a 40 y/o wanted to have sex, they would just have to wait. Who knows, they really might be in love, but there has to be a cut off point somewhere.
I've always found America to be very odd in that you have different laws in different parts of the country. It would make laws so much easier to enforce if all laws were standard, such as gun laws, as well as age of consent etc. In the UK, we have laws that are nearly totally standard, with Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland all having slightly different laws to each other, but by and large the same.
I think America is also unusual because we have a federal (nationwide) law - and then each state has it's own law, which are usually more restrictive than federal. But at the state-level, most all laws differ state-to-state. Certainly a lot with traffic issues...and definitely a lot with criminal issues, including sexual.
Right now in America, sexual issues are really "hot" in the news. Cops are getting better at finding pedo's using the internet because EVERYONE has a computer now and activities (including drugs, I imagine) are easy to hunt down.
Regarding our gun laws, we've got a couple fairly large private businesses keeping the government in check, namely the NRA (national rifle association). The spend massive amounts of money and time preventing small changes to the law that might affect (or obviously affect) gun laws. So, pretty much the federal law regarding that stays the same. As I understand it, the UK has even more strict gun laws.
Regarding gun laws, it is pretty difficult to get one in this country, and I *believe* that handguns and snipers are totally banned. The difference is that the majority of people here are against gun ownership, and I think that in America the majority would support more freedom of gun ownership.
Once you really start thinking about it, it's almost too complex to tackle. I agree with everything you said. In reality, if the law was lifted (completely,) I don't think anything would change. People do what they will - and if they're determined, then law usually isn't a deterrence. In other words, if there was no law and the 40yo pedophile wanted to mess with a 12yo, he's gonna try to get away with it. BUT - just because the law is lifted, doesn't mean a "normal" 40yo will say "oh, I can have sex with that kid now..."
But...my real concern is specifically 18 or 19yo's having sex with under 18's. Most states have the 2 year +/= gap. I'll admit that when I was 18, I was pretty hot for a 15 yo. Never did anything. But that's only a three-year difference! AGE is simply not the determining factor to decide if someone's ready.
That said, I don't know why younger women turn guys on. I mean a LOT of guys. There I go using the word "women." My theory is that IF a girl of any age approached a guy in his 20's-30's and said "I want to have sex," that guy would go for it. I think we're also seeing more females starting to do this too...lots of female teachers, etc, having sex with students as young as 12. I can understand the biological desire for males to have sex with younger females - but I don't understand older females that are sexually attracted to very young guys.
In the Uk its 16 which is good but you hav to be 18 to do everything else like watch porn or vote.
My personal standpoint is 15. At that age, I knew what was going on. I knew how my body worked. I understood the birds and the bees. I understood what "safe sex" was and was mature enough to employ it. I especially believe females are more emotionally mature at that point than their male counterparts.
I agree with this completely, I think it should definitely be 15. If some people aren't ready by then, well at least they have the choice to do it in the future.
14/15 definitely. teens get sooo much education about it nowadays, and it's such a taboo in most places, they're going to get curious and start wondering what it's like etc by this time, and with hormones raging etc.... the law's hardly going to deter them.. they will find a way to do it, so they should just make sure kids are educated and that contraceptive is available to them, and clinics and everything. and at this age they're less likely to do it when drunk and regret it, and not do it safely.
That's one issue people have problems with currently. I don't think a 19yo guy dating a 16yo girl is that far-fetched. In fact, I'd say it's about normal. Now a 16yo girl and a 42yo guy, sure, there's something wrong (at least in American culture).
Once upon a time - even in America - men married girls that reached puberty. The age has slowly risen since. Anthropologically speaking, I'd say this has more to do with average life expectancies than anything else. A 16yo would take a 12yo and start a family, as a quarter of their lives had already passed. It's an interesting consideration in the whole argument.
I doubt it's due mostly to life expectancy. I'd bet it's more about the expectations society puts on people now. You are in school untill 18, and then expected to go to college....Women in school untill 18 and off to college? That wasn't even popular untill, what, the 60's-70's and still had a long way to go. Your family is probably OK with you living with them over the age of 12 or so, well this was NOT so not too long ago. Back then, you were just another mouth to feed. You had to get out, and you'd likely be 'sold' in some manner (dowry). The idea that females had any choice in the matter is a laugh. They were just paid for, 'taken' and fucked, not so much for the purpose of having kids but because some older man wanted a young girl to bang. The notion that this crap was consensual, for the most part, is sooooo wrong.
well a study i heard of said the human brain does not reach its full maturity until it is at least 32 years old... maybe its a lie but that trips me the eff out..
I keep hearing of studies that talk about the brain not being developed and unable to make rational decisions until the age of 25. One of the reasons why car insurance so expensive under the age of 25 as they're the ones most likely to have accidents and / or get killed.
I have a teenage son, so I'll say 50+
;o)
How about declaring the consent age the age when a person can present a paystub from a full-time job and makes their own damn money because dating, flowers and the movies, condoms, birth control, abortions, babies, STD treatment, health insurance, and education aren't cheap; additionally paying their own damn bills, eating food and wearing clothes they purchased their own damn selves, and living in a place in which they pay their own damn rent.
I think 18 is good. People younger than that aren't really mature enough to be making that kind of decision. Underage pregnancy is one of those issues. A girl having a baby at 14 is a bad thing. She has no education, no job so it falls to the parents to raise the child. People need to wait and take their time with this sort of thing. There's no rush to have sex...in fact a chocolate bar can at times be more satisfying...just don't get too fat.
16 is the perfect age. I can't tell you how many seniors in highschool pressured freshman into having sex with them because it was the "cool thing to do." when you're 16, you've had more experience with boys and feel more comfortable with who you are.
This is a very complex issue.
In most countries the legal age of consent is less than 18. in many western nations like germany, it is even 14, sweden 15, you can check it on google. in most of europe it is 16 or less, with the exception of 2 countries. the lowest one is Spain, where it is 13.
Most european countries have a lower incidence of teenage pregnancy and sexual crimes than the USA.
What does it mean?
It is not a matter of law, it is a matter of education and many other variables. 18 is way too high for some people that might be ready at a younger age. Some people that are even 30 or 40 are not ready to have sex.
Every case should be considered and jugded in the base of every specific group of people.
In my opinion the most reasonable age of consent is 14, with a age difference of 5 years for those aged 12 of 13. But if someone is under 16, the court should make a extense review to make sure there was no rape. But I think that most teenagers 14 and up consent sex with their partners no matter the age difference.
By the way, this is the opinion of a 26 years old virgin, so i am not a pervert that is trying to soften the law.
No need to defend yourself... I think what you just argued was a similar opinion held by most everyone else - and that is that law fails to factor in a number of things and that age has little or nothing to do with it. So then, government sets a high number assuming everyone will have fit into that group by then. The government seems to set a lot of numbers for us, huh?
Personally, I think 18 is fine... mostly because it's the legal age of adulthood, and the fact people are usually 18 once they graduate from high school... at least in the US.
I would suggest about the age when you can confidently spell 'consent' correctly!
Thanks, Genius. I mistyped it. I would be thrilled to edit it, but alas; I cannot. Since you'd rather be critical than comment on the subject at hand, perhaps you should evaluate your sentence structure: "...would suggest about the age when..."
Since that's a fifth-grade writing level, are you suggesting that a ten-year-old is "ready to go?"
This is the crap that leads teens to not feel comfortable talking about sex - and I think it's a primary component of shaming them and instilling regret. You can cover a problem with ideological blankets, but you'd be ignorant to believe the problem no longer presents itself. That said, I loosely agree with you from a Christian standpoint - but we're not here to judge anyone.
From her profile:
"Advid member of the Ku Klux Klan."
Let's just leave this one to fester itself over.
Hello:
To each their own. I have been taught not to have sex until after marriage, and the rest of you believe that you should jump into bed and hump anyone you want to. My opinion and your opinion. And, yes, you are totally correct, not only me, but my Hubby and two sons are Advid members of the Awesome Organisation "Ku Klux Klan!"
Your opinions are just as much correct as mine, we all have different thoughts and to me we should get equal respect even if we do not agree with one another. Take care, friend. :D
It's easy to pull the "equal respect" card when you're the one under attack. But your beloved (hate-group classified!) KKK ideology clearly undermines that concept, and to a destructive, disgusting degree. There's nothing equal about racial superiority. There's nothing equal about violent bigotry. And there's no amount of politeness that will afford you any semblance of sympathy from even a rude, offensive internet troll like me.
I'm not going to respond any further, and I hope no one else does.
Sincerely,
Motherfucking Flutterhigh
I'm black and don't like your "hubby" and your son.
And my moms side is Jewish.
I think the age for sex varies in each case with the person. Some people are VERY ready at age 13, while others may not be ready by 20! So I don't think there is a "right " age. In general, though, if we must set an acceptable age to start, I think 13 or 14 is ideal. Just my opinion.
Well this is a fluid issue in my eyes, and if you are old enough to understand what's involved with/in having a child, then I believe that you should be able to have sex legally. However I also feel that older people shouldn't be able to fuck early teenagers...
I did not vote, because you did not mention my choice. WHY doesn't anyone here give AGE OF PUBERTY (the actual age the specific girl and or boy have theirs) as an option? in Biblical times that was when marriages were ok.
In Victoria the minimal age of concent is 10-15 years of age, but it has to be consensual and there can be no more than a 2 year age difference between the two parties.
Eg. A 10 year old can have sex with a 12 year old.
This is where I agree with most of Europe 13 or 14. I usually don't agree with the europeans
I live in Michigan and the age of consent there is 16 while I'm fine with that if I had my personal choice I would raise it to 18 even though most boys and girls at 18 are still incredibly immature is is the legal age for adulthood.
This is a hard ? to answer my last gf had a 14yo dauoghter and she was man mad,she had a bf who was 18yo and they had sex when i found out i phoned the police and they said to me we cannot proicute unless she makes a complaint coz in most caseses its the girl that makes all the running for sex,so when is it legal or ilegal?
Really, most teens are more than ready for sex at age 14, so I would say it should be set at that age. They are going to do it regardless of what the law says anyway. Some people are very ready even younger than 14, but if you are going to set an age at all, 14 is fine.
14, beginning of highschool and endless sex. Guys are always horny since they were kids, and women dont have nice enough tits til at leats 14, lol. so 14 is the time to get it on infinite
i didnt know this was even a law until way after i lost my virginity....its the stupidest law ive ever heard because poeple are going to do it anyway if they want to (similar with drugs) BUT i think a good age to first have sex is 16, that is, if your ready. any younger than that i think you are NOT ready no matter what you think
It's 16 here in the UK, but in some respects it doesn't matter, as teenagers will have sex if they want to, regardless of what the law states!
Interestingly though, the most mentally immature of my friends are the ones who lost their virginity underage, whereas those who seem more aware of 'safe sex' and are generally sensible are still virgins.
It's a funny ol' world!
In Australia, I believe it is 16, and under that, it's a two year age difference. I think that's fine. If two 13 year olds want to get together, that's fine. But not when a 30 year old wants to get with the 13 year old. I'm more concerned about adults exploiting children rather then when one is 'ready to have sex'.
16 is the age when people go to college so I wouldn't put it anywhere above this age.
Its different for everyone. But if shes old enough to pee shes old enough for me!
Absolutely. If we make the magic number 21, then we won't have to worry about anyone having "problems." You're an idiot, sorry.
The law doesn't discourage people under the legal age from having sex now, so increasing the legal age will have no impact. Young girls will still get pregnant - that's a cultural and educational issue, not so much a legal one.