The issue for me in this whole 'age of consent' debate is that very few men over the age of 25 would pursue a relationship with a girl under the age of 18 for anything other than casual sex. They're not looking to marry them or to really date them. I'm not comfortable with young girls being the target of casual sex by grown men. That is the icky part - for me.
Therefore I am much more comfortable with laws based on an age difference, for example, an 18-year-old dating a 15-year-old is much more likely to result in a real relationship than a 40-year-old and a 15-year-old.
And I would be comfortable with a national age of consent at 17.
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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
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