16 is the suitable Age of Consent for the US (Read)

The Age of Consent is the age at which a person becomes legally competent to consent to sexual intercourse. It is usually set at 14 to 16 worldwide, rarely below the former and rarely above the latter. In the US it varies from state to state at 16-18 with 16 being the most common, but what should be the consistent age for the entire country? I believe the most common age (16 years) is quite acceptable due to three factors.


1. The first factor is of course sexual maturity. When the body is ready for sex is obviously the first kind of maturity to consider when it comes to sexual activity. For example, a pregnant woman with an undeveloped pelvis would usually require a C-section, so its best to wait for sex when puberty is finished which is usually around the age of 16.

http://www.pamf.org/teen/parents/health/growth-11-14.html

2. The second factor to consider is emotional maturity. Now full emotional maturity doesn't happen until the mid 20s but to make the AOC that high is ridiculous. However it seems that a 15 year old is emotionally mature enough for sexual activity, as it appears to be the cut-off to prevent emotional damage from from the act.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19219545


3. The third and most important factor to consider is intellectual maturity. Consent is about the capacity of mind where one understands what they are doing and its consequences. The definition of "consent" in the legal dictionary.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/consent

The cognitive abilities of the brain which covers awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment reaches adult levels by the age of 16.

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2009/10/teen-maturity.aspx

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2012/08/adolescent-actions.aspx

If informed about STDs, contraception, as well as the difference between love and lust through sex education a person at the age of 16 can be quite responsible when it comes to sexual health. Just look at the Netherlands for example.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_education#The_Netherlands

Its Age of Consent is 16 and parents there often allow "sleepovers" between couples.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...low-in-sleepover-country-of-the-net/?page=all

 

If you promote something like this, don't act surprised when you end up with a spike in teenage pregnancy. You admit, yourself, that emotional maturity doesn't stabilize until the mid-twenties.

 

Whether or not it is the appropriate age for the US is of course a domestic concern.

I would be more inclined to set the age of consent at 17 and then provide a two year "Romeo and Juliet clause" indemnifying consenting partners even if one is below the age of consent provided their is no more than a two year age gap between the two.

 

---IMO, we live in a society that condones children of these ages shooting animals to death for sport. If they are believed to have the mental and emotional capacity to do this, they can (*)(*)(*)(*). As far as social and financial repercussions are concerned this is where the parents need to step in and inform them of their decision and the potential consequences, or disallow the behavior outright (might not work and, worse, might backfire). This is excepting individuals showing signs of obvious maladjustment; these types should not engage in either behavior expressed above.

---I'd like to see consistency with regards to age. If they can be tried as adults, they can engage in sex. If they can be trained to kill, they can have a shot of liquor, etc.

 

"Knowing what one is doing" is not the same thing as being emotionally mature.

 

---I agree.

 

Who says all kids are mature enough to understand the nature of murder, there's a reason young folks aren't tried as adults 90% of the time.

 

I think 16 is a fair age. It's reasonable. It's the age of consent of about half the country, anyway.

 

---How often are exceptions made in statutory rape cases? This isn't rhetorical- I do wonder if exceptions in statutory rape cases where the child is deemed mature enough to have consented are comparable to exceptions in murder cases where children are deemed mature enough to be tried as adults.

 

I think you just want to have sex with underage girls.

 

You're usually fair, but I don't think you're being fair here with that assumption. He lays out valid points, and attacking him doesn't refute those.

 

---Ridiculous. That is senseless. I cannot imagine how justice is served in what you have described, or what behavior had to be "rehabilitated" in the hoodwinked man that had been duped by deceptive temptress. It boggles my mind because I cannot fathom what end was served. I can't help but think that that is what happens when you use law to proselytize "morals".

 

I think whatever age we pick should be the same across the board. As far as nationally, it's a mess, the legal age in some states is low and others are higher, which is silly, especially when we can cross state lines easily and ignore them when online. But just as importantly, whatever age we pick should work for all adult functions. For example, if we say 17, then you can join the army at 17, you can vote at 17, you can drink at 17, and you are no longer eligible for the juvinile justice system at 17, among other things. Having a person able to drive and work at 16, but unable to vote or join the army or have a beer is silly. there's no logic here -- either a person at age 17 or so is old enough to make major life decisions or he's a kid who needs adult permission.

Having been around teens, I think about 17 is reasonable, I'd be open to 16, but it seems a stretch to have a child so young making such major decisions. Some mature 16 year olds might be able to, but not all of them.

 

Solid post. You make a lot of reasonable points.

 

I voted yes for a couple of reasons.

1st of all, I began sexual activity at 16 myself, and I couldn't have waited any longer...LOL So I am obviously OK with it.

2nd, if a 16 year old commits murder, aren't they tried as an adult in many cases? To me that implies a level of competence for the teen from the govt's point of view.

That being said, as a father of 2 teenage daughters I would rather they wait until they are at least gone off to college.

 

I would set most activities at 16 and 17 because biologically they are adults. 16 as a trainee age and 17 as the unrestricted age.

16 years of age

Age of Consent
Restricted Driving
Part time job
Viewing R-rated Movies
Viewing and buying porn
Involved in amateur porn as in homemade videos and pictures


17 years of age

Age of Majority
Unrestricted Driving
Full time job
Military service
Working in the porn industry
Drinking
Voting