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Zyr, I understand your point about homosexuality, but this is a real sore point with some of my gay friends, and I guess their outrage has rubbed off on me.
As far as your point goes, I think that it basically boils down to the fact that the object of affection (in the case of pedophila) can only be a victim. Prepubescent children can't really have much of an understanding of the emotions and issues of sex and can't make the decisions necessary to willfully engage in it. The best analogy that comes to mind is someone in a persistent vegatative state. Before they were incapacitated, they may have consented but in this condition there is now way for them to agree. If someone has a sexual prediliction for the comatose, acting on it is rape under all definitions of the act. I willingly conceed that there may be an age when concent is possible (which has been lightly touched upon in the parrallel thread), but when you are talking about prepubescent children (under the age of 12), it just isn't possible, and I doubt that there is a culture in the world that looks kindly upon those that would argue otherwise. Even the fundamentalist Mormons with multiple (and underage) wives don't marry their girls off until 14 or so (no offense to any Mormons out there in the ether - this is just the best example that comes to mind immediately).
As far as your first point goes, I still think that you're asking the mountain to come to Mohammed. There is no "magic age" for all young people where they're suddenly able to emotionally have sex. For some it might be as late as 18, and for some it might be as young as 16. I can't imagine that it would be any younger, especially when we're specifically discussing sex with an adult. I'm using 21 as the minimum age for my adult. There are just too many life experiences and emotional issues that are unresolved up to a certain, unspecified point in life.
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