Liberal Law

1. 68

   LailaKposted 13 years ago

   Should age of consent laws be made more liberal?

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   1. 69

      innersmiffposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Get rid of them.

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         Eric Newlandposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Are you a NAMBLA shill or something?

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         1. 69

            innersmiffposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            No, I just advocate personal responsibility and liberty.

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               Eric Newlandposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Even for adults who want to **** preschoolers?

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                  innersmiffposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  So you would let your child have sex with an adult if there was no law forbidding it?

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                     Eric Newlandposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     No, but by your original post you implied that there ought to be no law against it. I'm trying to clarify.

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                        innersmiffposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Yes that's right, because it is a law that punishes sexually responsible underagers. Incidentally, the law does nothing to prevent the incredible amount of pedophilia in government and corporate institutions so is in fact useless. There are methods in which we could avoid abhorrent behaviours without punishing the responsible people, who are in the majority.

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                        1. 69

                           innersmiffposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Getting rid of a law is not the same as advocacy. I think a lot of people on this forum could learn that.

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                           Eric Newlandposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           I think we might be talking about two different things. Are you talking about ephebophilia or pedophilia? By saying you want to do away with age of consent as a blanket statement you're implying that even pedophilia (i.e. sex with preadolescent children) shouldn't be a crime. I hope you don't think there's such a thing as a sexually responsible eight-year-old.

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                           1. 69

                              innersmiffposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              There are responsible parents. And I can tell you, the law had nothing to do with my parents warning me about the dangers of strangers. It's immoral and horrible, sure, but since I don't believe in the state I cannot support any kind of 'law' in that manner. There are common law solutions, and even without any kind of law, these people would be outcasts. I believe the ultimate punishment for criminals like that is not the time in prison, but the stigma and public humiliation.

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                                 Eric Newlandposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                 Sure. He permanently damaged an innocent child, enjoyed it carnally, got off scott-free, and statistically is almost guaranteed to do the exact same thing again in the near future, but at least he's embarrassed. That'll teach him.

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                                 kerrygposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                 Unless they live in a very small town, "stigma and public humiliation" is not going to prevent pedophiles from taking more victims.
                                 
                                 Additionally, child molesters come in several different types. Some use positions of authority to "groom" their victims, while others are opportunistic. The former type might be devastated by stigma and public humiliation, but the latter usually already are outcasts and attack children partly as a result of that status, so in some cases stigma and public humiliation could actually increase the number of attacks.

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                  2. 83

                     kerrygposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     We don't need age of consent laws to define our morals. We need then to offer us legal recourse if some sicko f***s our preschooler. What exactly are you proposing we do instead - just go to the guy's house and shoot him? Tempting as it would be, vigilante justice is not famous for its justness.

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                  Evan G Rogersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Man, lord knows that the only reason I don't have sex with minors is because it's illegal.
                  
                  The SECOND that law gets revoked, I'm gonna have myself a good ol' fashioned ...
                  
                  [BANNED]
                  -----------
                  
                  "I think laws should be relaxed" is NOT the same thing as endorsing such behavior.
                  
                  Understand this, young grasshopper, and you will realize much.

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                     Eric Newlandposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Perhaps, but in this case it turned out that innersmiff actually meant flat-out decriminalizing child molestation, so my reaction, while preemptive, turned out to be justified. No one was more disappointed than me.
                     
                     The "it doesn't mean I endorse it" rationale might be relevant for things people do to themselves, but not for harming someone else, and especially not a child. If you don't favor punishing an act like that you're basically saying you give child molesters permission to run rampant.

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      Brenda Durhamposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      No they shouldn't.
      Because even though some young people are more mature than others, the fact is that age is the only criteria that's universally available and realistic to use as a balance scale.

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   lifelovemysteryposted 13 years ago

   I agree with kerryg's statement, "We don't need age of consent laws to define our morals".
   
   We need age of consent laws to protect minors from predators and from making immature decisions that could harm them in the long run.

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