Those disgusted by Foley’s actions should support the Age of Consent being raised to 17 at the very least, but 18 as the goal. At 18, no congressmen would be able to legally seduce pages. This should be Federal law with National enforcement. Eh? Eh? Am I on to something here?
[quote]Sloth wrote:
Those disgusted by Foley’s actions should support the Age of Consent being raised to 17 at the very least, but 18 as the goal. At 18, no congressmen would be able to legally seduce pages. This should be Federal law with National enforcement. Eh? Eh? Am I on to something here?[/quote]
How about just waterboarding House leadership?
Or building a security fence around congress?
Part of the issue is the age of consent, but it’s not the whole story. Even if they were 18, Congressmen shouldn’t be hitting on pages.
K, but do you think AoC needs to be raised?
[quote]Brad61 wrote:
Part of the issue is the age of consent, but it’s not the whole story. Even if they were 18, Congressmen shouldn’t be hitting on pages.
[/quote]
Absolutely. The same standard should apply to presidents and their interns as well.
I’m just sayin.
Three replies, no answers.
The age of consent is different in different states. In some states it may be too low. In some states it may be just right.
Kind of like a Three Bears type of thing.
[quote]Brad61 wrote:
The age of consent is different in different states. In some states it may be too low. In some states it may be just right.
Kind of like a Three Bears type of thing.[/quote]
Yeah, which is why I’m asking my question. Should it dictated by federal law? And, set at what age?
It’s always been a states’ issue, and I honestly don’t think there is a big public outcry, demanding that it should be regulated on the federal level.
If you just want some opinions on what is a good age, I’d probably say 17 or 18.
[quote]Brad61 wrote:
It’s always been a states’ issue, and I honestly don’t think there is a big public outcry, demanding that it should be regulated on the federal level.
If you just want some opinions on what is a good age, I’d probably say 17 or 18.[/quote]
For the sake of efficiency, let’s just make eighteen the legal age for everything:
Drinking, smoking, driving, ownership of firearms, viewing and purchasing pornographic materials, sex, marriage, voting and serving on juries, and military service.
It has been said before, but if one is old enough to get laid, drive a car, elect a president and fight his wars, then one should be old enough to drink a beer if one chooses.
That said, I still think each state should have the right to dictate the age of sexual consent, unless we want to violate the 10th amendment (yet again), and make statutory rape a federal crime.
[quote]Brad61 wrote:
It’s always been a states’ issue, and I honestly don’t think there is a big public outcry, demanding that it should be regulated on the federal level.
If you just want some opinions on what is a good age, I’d probably say 17 or 18.[/quote]
bradley, if the pages in question were 17 or 18, are you still up in arms about foley?
Yes or no will do nicely.
JeffR
The age of Consent in the states is 17?? Thats bull.
Does that mean its illegal, for, lets say a 19 year old to have a 15 year old girlfriend?
Ive read about female teachers going to jail for having sex with 16 year old boys, i mean, cmon there are real criminals out there, with 16 you know what you do.
[quote]Ken Kaniff wrote:
The age of Consent in the states is 17?? Thats bull.
Does that mean its illegal, for, lets say a 19 year old to have a 15 year old girlfriend?
Ive read about female teachers going to jail for having sex with 16 year old boys, i mean, cmon there are real criminals out there, with 16 you know what you do.[/quote]
It would be legal in some states, but not in others. The legal ages varies by state, being as high as 18 and as low as 12.
The United States does not have a national age of consent, although federal law (18 USC Chapter 117) does forbid certain sexual activities with a minor (under age 18) if these activities occur across state lines.
Therefore, if our hypothetical 19 year old drives his 15-year old sweetheart from Wyoming (where the AoC is 18) to Colorado (where it is 15), on the Interstate, then fucks her in a hotel in Denver, he would not be breaking Colorado law, but may be breaking federal law, depending on how the statute is interpreted.
And actually, Foley’s sending lewd messages to his pages is already illegal under this same federal statute, assuming the pages were under 18.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
It would be legal in some states, but not in others. The legal ages varies by state, being as high as 18 and as low as 12.
[/quote]
Missouri and and Iowa have the youngest ages of consent for males, at 14. In Missouri, however, homosexual sex is illegal.
There is no 12, although I believe D.C.'s AoC used to be 12… which is obviously way too young.
To answer JeffR’s question - which I think is a good one - if it turns out all the pages were above the age of consent, then I will personally be very pissed with the media that made it sound as though he was preying on very young boys. Of course, it’s still not appropriate to hit on pages (or white house interns) when you hold a position of power over them.
I’m not as familiar as Varqanir with the laws that Foley helped pass; I know that it has been illegal to transport minors across state lines for the purpose of having sex with them for some time. But wasn’t there recently a case of an 18 year old married to a 15 year old (legally) who crossed state lines with his wife and was put in jail as a result? As a state’s rights advocate… shouldn’t full-faith and credit take precedence? After all, we’ve been told over and over again that if one state legalizes gay marriage then all states would be obliged to honor the union…
However, as I said, I don’t know the details of that case… so I may just be bloviating.
[quote]PGA200X wrote:
http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm[/quote]
I guess the anti-homosex rules are only selectively if at all enforced, you dont seriously want to tell me there are people in the usa in jail for being homosexuales!?
According to that list, most third world countries have anti-homosex rules, a few second world, and one first world country. Interesting.
[quote]Ken Kaniff wrote:
I guess the anti-homosex rules are only selectively if at all enforced, you dont seriously want to tell me there are people in the usa in jail for being homosexuales!?
[/quote]
It isn’t illegal to be a homosexual anywhere in the US. In some places it is illegal to have homosexual relations.
[quote]nephorm wrote:
Varqanir wrote:
It would be legal in some states, but not in others. The legal ages varies by state, being as high as 18 and as low as 12.
Missouri and and Iowa have the youngest ages of consent for males, at 14. In Missouri, however, homosexual sex is illegal.
There is no 12, although I believe D.C.'s AoC used to be 12… which is obviously way too young.[/quote]
There is, in fact, a 12. Right next door to you, Neph, in the great state of Delaware.
The law states that “a child who has not yet reached his or her sixteenth birthday is deemed unable to consent to a sexual act with a person more than 4 years older than said child. Children who have not yet reached their twelfth birthday are deemed unable to consent to a sexual act under any circumstances.”
In other words, a 12-year old girl may have sex, legally, with a 16 year-old boy, and vice-versa. A fifteen-year old may have sex with a 19-year-old, but not a 20-year old. A 16-year old may have sex with someone of any age, as long as they are over 12.
Stulta lex, sed lex (the law is stupid, but it is the law).
I remember that case. And now that I think about it, in the example I gave earlier, the couple traveling from Wyoming to Colorado would probably not be liable to prosecution, but a couple traveling in the opposite direction might be. As I said, this section of the statute is open to interpretation.
If the pages were 16 or over, then they are of legal age of consent in the District of Columbia. However, they are still considered minors under Federal Law. If Foley used the Internet, which falls under the definition of “interstate or foreign means of communication”, to “entice a minor to perform a sexual act”, then he is in violation of this law.
[quote]nephorm wrote:
Ken Kaniff wrote:
I guess the anti-homosex rules are only selectively if at all enforced, you dont seriously want to tell me there are people in the usa in jail for being homosexuales!?
It isn’t illegal to be a homosexual anywhere in the US. In some places it is illegal to have homosexual relations.[/quote]
Until 2003, in some states it was illegal to have anal sex with one’s own wife in one’s own bedroom. If you did it in Idaho, the maximum penalty was life in prison.
If you are referring to sodomy laws, sodomy also covers oral sex. Look it up.
And in some states, sex toys are illegal.