Question about sex with teens Answers anyone?

Question

Saw a report on CNN today about a bill in South Carolina that will make it ilegel for a 21 year old to have sex with a 16 year old, but the 16 year old can have sex with their 17 year old partner and it be ok, so here is the question. What is diffrent about a 21 year old as opposed to a 17 year old if the 16 year old wants sex? Why is it OK if her partner is 17 but wrong if he is over 21? This makes no sense to me because sex is sex!

Not saying I think 16 year olds should be having sex or that it is right for a 21 year old to be with a 16 year old. Just asking what ar the laws really protecting. Why can a 16 year old give consent to a 17 year old but it is rape if she or he is 21?

Answer 1

I think I know what you mean. The idea behind "the age of consent" is that a girl below that age is not mature enough to make the decision to have sex with someone. That is the rational for statutory rape laws.

That means that the girl is not mature enough to have sex with anyone! When I was a teen that was the law and the age of consent was 18 y/o. If you were older than 18 y/o you were prosecueted as an adult, under 18 y/o you were prosecueted as a juvenile.

Now, many states have the age of consent at 16 y/o and some state is considering lowering it to 14! When I was 13 y/o in 1956, it was generally accepted that sex before marriage was wrong and that people should wait until then to have sex.

Now, that idea is rejected by a lot of people and some people believe that there is nothing wrong with a 15 y/o boy having sex with a 15 y/o girl but that it is wrong for a 18 y/o boy to do the same thing.

That seems nuts to me and evidently, also to you. If the girl is too young to consent to sex that should apply to sex with anyone. I'm afraid there are a lot of nutty people who are lobbying for laws and voting for laws these days.

I don't know what we can do about it except to spread the word (as you are doing) that this is nuts and to vote for people who arn't nuts.

Answer 2

Personally, I believe that both scenarios are wrong. Age 21 is considered a "legal adult", and age 16 is considered a minor in most states. I cannot see how the law could grant age of consent to a 16 year old. I believe 18 is a better age, but that is my personal opinion.

A 16 year old with a 17 year old is a recipe for disaster. A 17 year old cannot legally get a "real" job due to lack of work experience, they cannot get credit, they cannot legally purchase an automobile, they cannot enlist in the miltary without parental consent, and the list goes on. Why grant age of consent? The end result could be an unwanted pregnancy, and two young people with no ability to raise it, or provide for it.

I think legal age of consent should be 18. Then they are pretty much adults, for the most part. I would agree to a 21 year old with an 18 year old, but not a 16 year old. That dog don't hunt!

Answer 3

The age difference is the key. Bigger age difference=bigger maturity difference=higher likelihood of abuse. Healthy 21+ adults are unlikely to seek out sexual relationships with 16 year-olds for good reasons. It's natural to want partners who are of the same sexual and emotional maturity. At the same time, kids age 15, 16 are at an especially vulnerable age for sexual abuse because they feel more mature than they are: studies have shown that parts of the brain that play a part in making decisions are not fully developed until age 22 or so. When 2 partners are peers, there's less likelihood for abuse, so a 16 and 17 year-old would be more likely to have a healthy relationship. I would support the bill; I have a 16 year-old sister, and there's no way I'd want a 21 year-old guy touching her. She's still a kid.

Answer 4

Sex is sex, but the psychology behind the maturity level, mentality and activities likely to happen in certain situations are different. You take a 17 and a 16 and they have sex - it is MUCH safer for the Gov / Law makers to allow than 21 and 16. While you are upset because it really seems to "make no sense" - the law makers are more focused on what can become of that situation. Crime rates could rise as a 21 with a 16 would be much more inclined AND capable of buying alcohol for a minor - which has a spiral effect....... Then teen DUI's rise, then teen pregnancy rises, then poverty rises, the crime - is inevitable as younger people who have kids before they have the chance to become adults or complete education struggle......... It has more to do with keeping alcohol away from minors....... I garantee. If a 21 guy can't be with a 16 girl for sex (for fear of gettin busted) then he/she will likely hang with an older croud and this will prevent more crime..........

It always has another reason and or connection........

Answer 5

It is common and normal for high school age students to have sex between themselves, but older people may take advantage of those 16 and under. In other words a 16 and 17 year old young adult are in the same basic point in life etc.

Answer 6

Because if the partner is 21 and the girl is 16,sex may be looked at like a rape.If both of them are 16-17,sex is something they have agreed on,but a 21-year-old man may have scared the girl,cause he's older and stronger,etc.And at 21 you don't think like a 16-year-old and sex is something a little differentfor you,not like it would be at 17.
Anyway I'm glad I live in a country where there are no such rules - teenagers and adults have sex with their boyfriends/girlfriends and everything is OK.Here even a 21-year-old can have sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend and nobody is going to chase him.

Answer 7

ok first off the 21 yr old should not be having sex with anybody that is not 18 in the second sense 16 yr olds are totally too young to be having sex(but i was 16 when i lost my virginity) but we were young and stupid...17 is the natural age of consent!

Answer 8

Everywhere I've lived, 16-year-olds were considered too young for consent, making it statutory rape to have sex with them. Either that or I've been out of touch as part of the Army too long. I know lots of things have changed in the past few years, but I didn't think it was that bad. Then again, it is South Carolina...

Answer 9

18 is an adult....right? I have never heard of anyone complaining about 21 year olds and younger teens....I guess times have changed...back in the day we used to stick closer to our own ages so that we knew we both were mature enough. But oh well! But really, I don't think there is a state out there that says a 19+ year old can have sex with someone under 18yrs. You might want to check your facts? Not to be insulting...but it would be strange for so many other states to have adults listed as 18 and some as 21. Really all 21 ever did for me was make drinking legal.

Answer 10

Yeah I saw that. I live like 41/2 miles from south carolina.Well i kinda agree with you.But I think the laws are there because they consider any one under 18 to young to have sex.Don't nobody round here in this neck of the woods listen to them laws anyways!That's why the prison's packed!The cops don't even listen to some of them laws! If every time a person broke the law and had to go to prison for it round here we would have about 5 four story prisons.