OK, So yesterday I said that I was going to start the rants again in hope to get to 100 by the time the blog turns One in November. That is only about ten per month, so that seems doable. I figured that I would start with the one that seems to me to be one of the most controversial: The Age of Consent.
Even thought that this is a gay oriented blog, I don’t want to talk about JUST the age of consent for sex, but rather the age of consent for everything. So first off, lets talk a look at what most of the consent ages are. Please keep in mind that since this blog is based in the United States, I’m going off those numbers.
- To get your drivers license – 16
- To vote and smoke – 18
- To join the military – 18
- To drink – 21
- To have sex – 16 to 18
We live in Los Angeles, and there are a ton of teen drivers around here, and if you have ever visited, the I-10, 5, 15, 405, 110, the CA-91, 210, 60, and areas like the Orange Crush are not nice places to want to start your driving career. Heaven forbid that Nick will be soon and that I’ve had about four years of experience and it still freaks me out at some points. But here we are saying that you’re old enough to get behind the wheel of a few tons of steel, head out on the open roads, yet we are not going to let you vote or smoke yet? According to the CDC on the website Car-Accidents.com 36% of all deaths in the age group of 16 to 20 come from driving.
So we are going to let this age group kill themselves 36% of the time from driving, but we wont let them vote of smoke? All but three states according to Wikipedia you have to be 18 in order purchase tobacco products. The three exceptions being Utah, Alabama, and New Jersey, where you have to be 19. But now here is the really stupid part: Most countries do not have a minimum age to be able to smoke in public. So while you could be arrested for supplying a 15yo with his cigarettes, it’s not illegal for the 15yo to smoke them. So here there really is NO age of consent to smoke. We are saying it is totally fine for them to make up their own mind to smoke or not, we are just making illegal to supply them with the means.
Right now I can see keeping the voting age at 18, but just from my experience there are a lot of younger people who are very knowledgeable about what is going on in their town, city, state, and the Federal government. Sure I do believe that if we were to open voting to 16yo’s that they would just pick a box without to much consideration. But if a kid can join the military early with parental consent, how about some sort of constitutional test that a minor can take to earn early voting rights?
Now the drinking age is actually one that I think should be raised! 25 maybe? Everyone is always worried that young people like ourselves can’t make informed decisions, and I’ve seen that just get worse when people drink. People drink, they get into car accidents, they get too drunk, and like the girl in the news the other day who was 21, tried to walk home in shorts and a tank top, in below zero weather, and froze to death a few blocks away. You become aggressive and start fights that you regret later. And don’t get me going on the few frat parties that I’ve been to. None of this is responsible drinking. Personally I think it would help to lower the amount of underage drinking. 21 and 22yo people DO hang around with underage people, they are still part of their social group. I’m 20 and I have friends that are 14 the youngest I can name off the top of my head to about 25. So when I turn 21 and am able to have drinks in my apartment whats not to say that if a younger friend were to come over over and ask for a drink that I might allow him to have one? Anyone who knows me of course knows that is not going to remotely happen. But it doesn’t mean that someone else my age who has younger friends wont. But the probability of a 25yo having friend to hang out with and supply drinks is probably lower. Hopefully you can see where I’m going there. But what is also strange here is that it is illegal for a minor to be in possession of alcohol, but it’s not illegal to be in possession of tobacco. Seems to me that if it is illegal for someone to purchase something then it should be illegal for them to possess it too.
Take for instance the California law on the possession of firearms. California prohibits the purchase to anyone under the age of 21. HOWEVER, a minor can possess one where the parent or guardian has consented, and is present. But there is no minimum age to possess a rifle or shotgun. So why not let a minor smoke with the consent and presence of his parents? Why not let let kids drink with the consent and presence of their parents. At least with the consent and presence of the parents there would be that additional time to teach about the effects of smoking and drinking. And while we are at it how about sex with minors being OK as long as you have consent from your parents? I mean, come on!
And then the biggest one, having sex. This has to be one of the most messed up age of consent laws that are out there. Though I can understand their purpose, they way they are written sometimes makes you want to pull your hair out. Take a look at this CHART and tell me you don’t agree. The age of Consent in the United States is all over the place. I was getting a headache just trying to read that list, and it seemed like someone cut and pasted the information from a law book. But here are some of the one that really stood out out to me:
- Delaware – Can have sex with 16 and 17yo as long as you’re under 30
- Florida – Can have sex with 17 and 17yo as long as you’re under 23
- Maine – Can has sex at 14 as long as your partner isn’t over 5 years older
- Minnesota – Can has sex at 13 as long as your partner isn’t over 4 years older
- Ohio – Can have sex at 13 as long as your partner isn’t over 18
- Oregon – Can have sex at 12 as long as your partner isn’t over 3 years older
- Washington – Can has sex at 12 as long as your partner isn’t over 2 years older
Now remember I AM NOT A LAWYER. This is just how I interpreted what I read. I am not in the least bit advocating that everyone start going to have sex with minors. But here is where I think the laws are dumb. Some states are giving consent to very young minors, while others don’t. If this is the “United” states, then crap like this should be consistent over ALL the states. Basically what all this is saying is that kids can consent to have sex with other kids, but they can’t consent to sex with adults. And I’ll have to do a Rant on that in the future, but kids are not stupid!! They want to learn about sex, they want to learn about their sexuality, but the only people we are saying that they can do that with are other inexperienced, unknowledgeable, kids. And that, in my eyes, is stupid.
Yes, there are bad people out there that we want to protect the kids from. Believe me, in my old line of work, I ran into a few like that. But not everyone out there who would enjoy a relationship with a younger person is not a rapist. They are not out to “abuse” minors. And most of the time society even gets they name of what they are trying to accuse people of wrong. Having a sexual relationship with a 14yo is NOT pedophilia. That is when you’re attracted to pre-pubescent boys generally 11 and under. The term hebephilia is used for those attracted to the early adolescents of 11 to 14 generally, and the last one is ephebophilia who are attracted to late adolescents of 15 and up. So even society can’t get their terms straight when making adults look evil.
Do I believe that there can be healthy sexual relations between and older person and a younger person? Yes. Do I believe that there are a bunch of asses out there that DO take advantage of younger people? Absolutely! And I’ll probably end up doing a Rant on just this subject in the near future, but in just like anything else, it is the few bad people out there that make it hard for the rest of us who are trying to do good. A few bombers and we all have to take our shoes off at the airport, a few religious zealots and everyone thinks EVERY Muslim is out to get them, a few illegal immigrants and everyone wants to ship the entire population out. And the news and the internet make the issue seem 10 times worse than it is.
OK, so that was a little long winded. But as you can see the age of consent is like a jig-saw puzzle. First you have to figure out what you’re doing, then you have to read your state laws to find out if what you want to do is illegal or not. Last I checked not to many people have law libraries in their houses, and the last thing you want to do is to call up a lawyer and say “hey I’m 22 and I’m dating a 14yo. Is it OK for us to have sex?”. Though if you want to keep your butt out of a sling, it’s probably a good idea to do.
Yes, I know I have a strange take on this subject, just like I do most everything that I Rant about. But I never say that I’m right. These are always just my opinions which are always open for debate. Do not take this as Gospel.
Love to you all as always!
~Ryan
The DisInformation Protocol 