Do you think the legal dating age by law should be 16 instead of 18 to give those girls and guys a chance?

Question

to date older people and not have to wait 2 more years of annoyance.

Answer 1

No. 18 is just fine.

Answer 2

What do you mean by a legal "dating age?" Far as I know there is no such thing. If you mean age of consent to have sex, most states is already 16 and that might just be too young.

For those who think it's MOSTLY 18, check again:

USA by State:

Alabama16
Alaska 16
Arizona 18
Arkansas 16
California 18
Colorado 17
Connecticut 16
District of C. 16
Delaware 16 (f)18 (m)
Florida 18
Georgia 16
Hawaii 16
Idaho 16 (f) 18 (m)
Illinois 17
Indiana 16
Iowa 14(f) 16(m)
Kansas 16
Kentucky 16
Louisiana 17
Maine 16
Maryland 16
Massachusetts 16 (f) 18 (m)
Michigan 16
Minnesota 16
Mississippi 16
Missouri 17
Montana 16 (f) 18 (m)
Nebraska 17
Nevada 16
New Hampshire 16
New Jersey 16
New Mexico 17
New York 17
North Carolina 16
North Dakota 18
Ohio 16
Oklahoma 16
Oregon 18
Pennsylvania 16
Rhode Island 16
South Carolina 14 (f) 16 (m)
South Dakota 16
Tennessee 18
Texas 17
Utah 16 - f 18 (m)
Vermont 16
Virginia 18
Washington 16
West Virginia 16
Wisconsin 18
Wyoming 16 (f) 18 (m)

Answer 3

Personally, I think the reason we have an age of consent is answered in the question above.

To many kids today think that dating=sex.

The truth of the matter is that kids (for the most part) are to immature to deal with the real reprocussions.

Sure, kids get the fact that sex=pregnancy, but then they "get to have a baby of their very own!!!" They don't really understand yet what having a baby means.

And the younger a child is, the more likely they will fall for all of the same ol' lines that most adult women have learned to ignore.

Answer 4

I question what you mean by dating. In my book, dating is going out to a dance or a movie and dinner and then going back to your respective homes. You can do that in most places at quite a young age, certainly 16 anywhere I know of. If by dating you mean sleeping together, then no, the mature responsibility needed to handle the intimate relationship is not present in a 16 year old person in today's society.
Dating does not need to include sex. Sixteen is just fine for that. Eighteen is a minimum for engaging in sexual relationships because you are supposed to be mature enough to handle the consequences of that relationship.
At 19 I looked at myself and said "no way". At 22 I was ready and I got married. Now, 33 years later, it was all good.

Answer 5

I think the law should be less black-and-white on the issue. The reason we have the age of consent law is so that minors who are raped don't have to go through the hell of a cross-examination that a normal rape victim would--it's a simple question--did he put it in you or not? There is no defense that she asked for sex and changed her mind, that she's a dirty girl anyway, or any of the other defenses that come up when a full-grown woman is raped. And we do have to protect the kids.

That said, I think the rule is 18 because no one wants to believe that teens have sex, and that's just not true. If both people consent, and the parents don't have a problem with it, the law should not step in, but unfortuanately, the way the law is written now, they almost have to. I think that the law should be changed to allow young people to date older people, as long as we can still protect teens from predatory people.

Answer 6

Actually MOST states are 18 ... not 16. And, I think 18 is just fine.
Too many predators ... just watch Dateline.

There are exceptions to the age of consent rules, but remember, on a Federal level it's 18, and that would take precedence the moment you stepped over a state line anyway.

Answer 7

If you want to look at this from the perspective of world norms, then 18 is ancient compared to most of the rest of the world. 16 is extremely common, and 14 is not too uncommon. In other words most people grow up at a younger age.

In the natural course of maturity sexual hormanes are very much a factor in a 16 year olds life. It seems that society should try to accept the reality rather than try to make reality conform to its peevishness.

In my own case, 16 was plenty old enough to have desires for sexual and emotional relationships, but others my age were far to immature for anything meaningful. I feel I missed out on a lot and could have matured more easily and more quickly if I had the opportunity be in a relationship with someone older.

Answer 8

Are you talking about a child having dating/ Sexual relations with a mucholder or older adult legally.. Boo... 18 is fine, you can wait. Sounds like a predator to me.

Answer 9

Well 16 is age of consent so 16 should be legal age.

Answer 10

Age of consent (for sex) varies by state/province/country.

In many US states, the age of consent is 16.

If you think the age should be changed in your state, get involved in local politics.