<< True, but this includes mature teenagers. My Grandma was married at 15, and had her first child at 16. This was 50 years ago. Is sex at that age considered immoral? Was it then, but not now, or vice versa? The problem is that there is no way to separate sex acts with young children and sex acts with teenagers, because no one can agree on what an acceptable age is. This will prohibit any reasonable law that prevents child pornography in the way most people could agree upon. >>
There has been a trend in some European countries to lower the age of consent. For a full list, go to www.ageofconsent.com (I'm not kidding). In many countries it is now 16, 15, even 14. This takes into account a recognition that some teenagers are mature enough to make decisions for themselves. There's no magic dividing line; i.e., a 12 year old isn't ready but a 13 year old is. There are probably some 20 year olds, even 30 year olds, who aren't capable of really consenting. I think one line is sex between people of roughly the same age (i.e., a 13 year old with a 14 year old) and another is sex between people of differing ages (13 year old with 24 year old). I'm not sure where to draw the line either. The point is to protect children from predatory adults. How best to do that? Tom Beck "I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I didn't realize I'd also see the last." - Jerry Pournelle
