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| View Poll Results: What should be the legal age of consent? | |||
| 12 or under. |
   
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0 | 0% |
| 13 |
  
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1 | 3.70% |
| 14 |
  
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0 | 0% |
| 15 |
  
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2 | 7.41% |
| 16 |
  
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7 | 25.93% |
| 17 |
  
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0 | 0% |
| 18 |
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6 | 22.22% |
| 19 |
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0 | 0% |
| 20 or older |
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2 | 7.41% |
| other or depends. |
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8 | 29.63% |
| Most certainly higher for Americans than for other peoples. |
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1 | 3.70% |
| Voters: 27. You may not vote on this poll | |||
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#1
11-10-2006, 07:21 PM
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Should the Age of Consent Be Puberty?
Assuming that puberty is when nature says we're ready for sex, should the legal age of consent be puberty? If so, why? If not, why not?
More than one study has found that, world wide, the majority of people tend to wait until the later half of their teen years (16 to 19) to have sex. Why do you suppose that's so, given that the same people tend to come into puberty around 12 or 13? Can a 13 year old make a reasonable decision about whether to have sex or not? Can a 16 year old? What about a 19 year old? Given that the human brain does not fully develop it's powers of foresight until around 21 or 22 years of age, should the age of consent be raised to 23? Put differently, is the power to foresee the consequences of our actions absolutely crucial to when we can legitimately give consent to sex? Is there any relationship whatsoever between what should be the age of consent and whatever age most people are capable of treating a boyfriend or girlfriend with respect and decency? What, if any, relationship is there between what should be the age of consent and the age at which most people are able to genuinely love another person? Should the age of consent be tied in any way to the age at which a minor can get an abortion without parental notification? What do you think the legal age of consent should be? Last, given that the largest audience segment for Rush Limbaugh in the US is comprised of males between the ages of 18 and 35, is it not quite prudent and reasonable to raise the age of consent for American males to 36?
__________________
Then I came back from where I'd been. My room, it looked the same - but there was nothing left between The Nameless and the name. - Leonard Cohen. 
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#2
11-10-2006, 07:30 PM
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I have to give it a thought.
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#3
11-10-2006, 07:46 PM
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So do I.
I personally think our current system behind what is appropriate for who is primitive and everything should be replaced by a system that judges individuals. Perhaps people should be required to take sex education classes? But then parents would argue that it's their right to determine when their child have the right to engage in sex.
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#4
11-10-2006, 07:50 PM
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I think we should base more on mental development and less on age.
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#5
11-10-2006, 07:52 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Then I came back from where I'd been. My room, it looked the same - but there was nothing left between The Nameless and the name. - Leonard Cohen.
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#6
11-10-2006, 07:53 PM
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Quote:
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#7
11-10-2006, 07:59 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Then I came back from where I'd been. My room, it looked the same - but there was nothing left between The Nameless and the name. - Leonard Cohen.
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#8
11-10-2006, 08:07 PM
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If puberty for a girl, means the start of her menstrual period...that means I would have been able to consent to sex at ten years old. I was in fourth grade.
I don't know if I was ever really mentally ready for sex, to be honest. Whether really ready or not...I was sixteen. I guess sixteen sounds like a nice number (for across the board) but it's just a number. I don't think a person has any business having sex if they aren't in any way, shape or form capable of dealing with the possible consequences. At least at sixteen, one can drive (hopefully), work and is part way out of school. I mean, truthfully, at 27 now, I cringe, when I look back at how naive I was at 16. And I was a mature and responsible sixteen year old. I think the most important thing is responsible parenting...taking the time to education your sons and daughters on sex...the good, the bad and the ugly and teaching both males and females the importance of exercising good judgement and taking responsibility for their sexual and reproductive health.
__________________
"Man's creative struggle, his search for wisdom and truth, is a love story.  " - Iris Murdoch
Last edited by dawny0826; 11-10-2006 at 08:30 PM.
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