Originally Posted by lurkette

Calm down everybody. I think there's probably more here that we can agree to than we suspect.

Age of consent (at least in the US) is fairly arbitrary, but it may be the best thing we've got. Would those of you who are arguing that a 14-year-old should be able to choose to marry agree that a 14-year-old accused of murder should be eligible for the death penalty? No matter how mature a young person is, it is scientifically factual that their brains, as well as their cognitive and executive functions, have not matured to adult levels until somewhere between age 17-20. They simply don't understand long-term cause and effect in the same ways as adults, and often don't really understand the full consequences of their actions. I can provide you with the peer-reviewed references if you really want.

Now, does that mean that all teenagers should be considered drooling idiots incapable of exercising self-determination and making their own decisions? Absolutely not. They deserve respect and they deserve responsibility in measure with their capabilities. But any kind of mitigation for maturity should happen after the fact in the legal system, decided by the youth's parents, a judge, guardians ad litem, etc. It doesn't follow that we ought to simply abolish statutory rape laws or age of consent laws just because there are some mature teens and some infantile adults to whom the general assumptions don't apply.

I also think using the word "rape" is just inflammatory. There is a huge difference between a sexual assault in the true sense of the word, and being old enough to know better than to use one's position of authority and respect to befriend and influence a teenager into making a bad choice regarding sex. They're simply not the same. Inability to make good decisions does not and should not equate to unwillingness to have sex. Absolutely it's wrong, but it's not the same KIND of wrong, if that makes sense. b