Age of Sexual Consent

[TomahawkEagle]

I think the age of consent when I was first having sex was 16, or 18. I can't remember. I think it's 16 in Australia.

Think the age of consent varies slightly between different states in Australia. In New South Wales, the age of consent for male to male sex was dropped to 16 only a few years ago to bring it in line with male to female sex.

Not sure about other states but in Victoria, while the age of consent is 16, there's a close in age provision where you can have sex with someone under 16 provided the age difference between the two parties is not greater than 2 years. This would allow a 16 year old to do it with someone who's 14. I first fooled around when I was 14 with another 14 year old guy. So as long as it's consensual, there's nothing illegal.

Not many countries have this close in age provision.

 

[Nomenclature]

Each state in the US has its own Consent laws, and most of them have different rules for gay or straight sex, sodomy etc. If your state's consent law is "18 or over", they can legally consent to anyone their age or older regardless. If the AoC is under 18 (16, 17) then they can only consent to someone 3-4 years older, depending on the state and cannot have sex with say, a 30-year old man.

One loophole for this is if the state's marriage law is under 18; If they're legally married, then it's apparently okay. . .but the family may or may not object to their teenager getting married to an adult.

 

[sexsomniac]

In the U.S., age of consent is determined by the state.

In Georgia, it's 16.

But the act of sodomy is still illegal in Georgia.

Does that applies to both party? or just who penetrate?

 

[Críostóir]

Does that applies to both party? or just who penetrate?

Please read the thread. That law was overturned by Georgia's Supreme Court, and in any case would have been invalidated by the SCOTUS decision in Lawrence v Texas.

 

[trawler69]

Here is a table of worldwide age of consent. It makes me laugh at the word United when used in conjunction with States as they are clearly any but United in so many things including this.

http://www.avert.org/age-of-consent.htm

 

[hotatlboi]

Here is a table of worldwide age of consent. It makes me laugh at the word United when used in conjunction with States as they are clearly any but United in so many things including this.

The US operates on the principle of federalism. This means that certain things are governed at the state and local levels rather than being national/federal law.

The states are united in the sense that they are all part of one country, but governance is a shared responsibility between the national government and the states.

It was designed that way so that the national government would not become too powerful, and as large as our national government has become in recent years, I really don't think they should be granted total control over even more things.

 

[Semirhage666]

yes, but - is sodomy legal where you are? or oral sex, for that matter....

The laws prohibiting sodomy in the 5 or so states that had them were ruled unconstitutional and struck down.

 

[Críostóir]

I'm having trouble understanding this.
Can somebody please explain.

I think the part about the age of majority isn't right, but there are laws about what you can do with a minor that are independent of the age of consent. For example, there's a law about "luring" a minor to a place that doesn't strictly depend on the activity you've lured them for being illegal.

Also, the AoC applies only to sex itself. As mentioned above, if you take a 17-year-old home in most states, you can fuck his brains out and that's all perfectly legal, but if he watches porn while he's in your house, even without your knowledge or consent, you've broken the law (yeah, even though HE did it and YOU didn't intend him to; it's really twisted). He can look at your naked body, but he can't look at a picture of your naked body, even if he takes it himself with a cellphone. If he does, he's the victim of a crime and you're the perp. Sick, huh?

My advice is: just don't ever let anyone under 18 into your bed. Ever. I insist on >18 myself, no matter how much the boy says "no one will find out" and "age is just a number." Age may just be a number, but so's the thing they put on your orange jumpsuit when you go to prison!

(There's also the fact that teenage boys seem like puppies to me: they're cute, but not in an "I want to fuck them" kind of way. I want to pat their heads and read them a story. I'm so fucking old it's disgusting.)

As before, I Am Not A Lawyer and the above is not legal advice. If you have specific questions about laws in your state, consult an attorney admitted to that state's bar.

 

[Críostóir]

The laws prohibiting sodomy in the 5 or so states that had them were ruled unconstitutional and struck down.

Fourteen, actually, if the map on this page is correct.

 

[Críostóir]

Yes the basic cause of the patchwork of laws across the US regarding age of consent and whether it varies male to female, gay to straight

I believe that the laws giving different ages of consent for gay and straight sex were also struck down by Lawrence, but again, I am not a lawyer etc.

 

[Críostóir]

But it's my country and I am it's and I believe it becomes a more and more perfect union as time goes by.

I wish I believed that. Unfortunately, while Lawrence and so on are improvements, in general this country is going downhill fast, with the crazy right fearmongering constantly about terrorism and so on.

 

[Críostóir]

Today's crazy right's fearmongering shall be seen in hindsight as just more of the nattering noise that has always dogged America's constant climb up towards it's ideals. We have moved, slowly, surely, and irresistably towards equality for all in this patchwork and most diverse of nations.

I hope you're right. Looking at the way things are going right now it's easy to get discouraged.

And the fearmongering is having an effect. We still have greatly decreased privacy and moronic security theatre at the airport. I sure hope you're right, and we'll know when those things get drastically better than they were before 9/11, instead of much worse, as they are now.