Originally Posted by Martian

Mature isn't a boolean argument. Are there 15 year olds out there more mature than the average 17 or even 18 year olds? I would contend that there are, although they're admittedly quite rare.



I'm not sure I see your point there. I will agree that there does need to be some division, but I don't understand how a 50 year old having sex with a 17 year old is any different from a 19 year old having sex with a 17 year old (besides the visceral 'ew' factor). If we're going to acknowledge that a 17 year old is mature enough to make the decision to have sex, how does the age of the other party factor into it?