Should it be legal for teens to have sex?

1. 71

   alfredfoxposted 14 years ago

   Should it be legal for teens to have sex?
   
   Why is it teenagers are legally not allowed to drink alcohol, vote for their country or smoke a cigarette, but it is legal for a teen to have sex with a man, for example a 16 year old girl having sex with a 65 year old man in the UK is legal. If a teen can make the latter decision then why can they not make the others?

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2. 61

   mainstreetcmposted 14 years ago

   I can tell you right now, that even if the sex is consenual, it is very much illegal for a 65 year old man to have sex with a 16 year old girl here in the United States.
   
   Here, they have a whole television show devoted to men who try to find underage girls to have "consenual" sex with and it turns bad for the men as its a sting operation.

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3. 72

   Sweetsusiegposted 14 years ago

   It is my theory that teenagers don't have a full grasp of what life is all about during those 'teen' years.  Their minds are growing and absorbing a lot of information, from parents and peers as well as outside influences such as television and media.  The frontal lobe of the brain is still in development at this time and things are not processed quite as well as the adult brain.
   
   It is a time for making stupid decisions and as parents we need to be there to help absorb the impact of these decisions. Setting boundaries and helping prevent such things from coming to fruition is a parents job, and one which should never be taken lightly.
   
   So the legalities for sex, smoking, drinking or voting should be left until such teen is able to process this information and make a conscious decision regarding each.

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4. 61

   MickSposted 14 years ago

   Where did you get that info from for the UK, are you thinking of some other country, or are you suggesting that voting, drinking and smoking ages should also be lowered to 16?
   In the UK, 18 year olds are allowed to drink and buy alcohol, buy and smoke tobacco products, and vote, The age of consent for sexual matters is 16, I doubt that any good or usefulness would come from trying to increase it to, say 18, in line with the drinking, smoking and voting age,  and I doubt that any good or usefulness would come from lowering the others to  the age of consent.

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5. 60

   destiny4885posted 14 years ago

   Im under 18 and ive been told i shouldnt be on this site, but guess what people underestimate the teen population these days. Not all teens are stupid. I grew up around all adults so i do have a grasp on certain subjects. i do think it is necesary for there to be a law about sex, but not on how old you have to be to have sex, but what ages can and cant have sex with eachother. ive made mistakes and yet i dont regret not one of them, cause i learned so much, and i cant be protected all my life. maybe adults need to be smarter and realize that having sex with 14 year old or under 18 is not the smartest thing, its not always the kids being stupid it has alot to do with adults as well.

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6. 51

   vc29posted 13 years ago

   I don't think it really matters  if  the law makes it legal for Teens
   to have sex, because they are having it now. Its way out of
   control, something should have been done a long time ago. They
   would find away to have sex anyways, Teens have so much freedom today, thats my opinion.

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7. 60

   JLCloseposted 13 years ago

   I can't see why or how the government would regulate something like this. Of course I don't think teenagers should be having sex, but what would we do to prevent it--video monitor them?
   
   That said, in the US, if a 16 year old had sex with a 65 year old and they were reported, the 65 year old would be most likely convicted as a sex offender. But if two 16 year olds have sex, it would usually be considered consensual.

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8. 62

   drspanielposted 13 years ago

   In some way I think it should be as they're going to do it anyway... They don't quite grasp how life works, and in their years they should really be focussing on understanding the world, but then experimenting with each other is a great way to learn!

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