Age of Consent the Number With Too Many Numbers

America is the land of freedom. In its bill of rights it includes the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, of press, but this bill does not however include the right to choose to whom you fall in love. The sex laws forbidding adults to be with someone underage is a violation of human rights. The logic behind these laws is faulty, arbitrary, and dogmatic. And as I present this speech to you, you will see how seriously flawed the system is.
Minors, citizens under 18, are delinquents under the government. Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a federal law that includes keeping your child away from school, committing a crime in the presence of a child, providing alcohol or drugs. Contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor is when an adult has sexual relations with a minor under the age of consent. Even an adult, who respects a minor’s virginity, kiss to the lips qualifies in a 10-year record as a sex offender and imprisonment.
Is this Justice?
Under the law in California minors are too much of delinquents to consent to sex. Rape is when one person forces sex on another person without consent. Statutory rape is characterized as non-forced sexual intercourse with a person who is younger than the statutory age of consent. A minor in California, someone under the age of 18, is incapable of consenting to sex.
The actual ages of these laws very greatly from state-to-state as well as the punishment for offenders. In California small cases result in a year imprisonment in county jail. Someone 21 years or older having sexual intercourse with a minor may result up to 4 years in county jail. Many states depending on the severity of how young the minor is may result in prison for life and some the death penalty. Each state has it’s own unique and complex laws on the matter. Maine for example, an adult who has sex with a minor below age 14 is sentenced 50 years in prison. If the minor is at least age 14 or 15, only one year in prison is served.
An offender missed the 14th birthday by a month in Maine, and his term is 49 years longer. Is there really a 49-year sentence difference between someone who is age 13 between someone who is age 14 based on maturity?
Is this justice?
The prison sentence in Arizona of an adult having sex with someone 14 is 20 years in prison, of someone 15 is only a year. Is there really a valid 19-year sentence difference between someone a year or less apart based on maturity?
Is this Justice?
It is Fourth-degree sexual assault if someone age 20 or older engages in sexual intercourse with someone under age 16 in the state of Arkansas and may result in only one year of prison. If somebody 20 years or older does the same crime in Missouri the sentence may be up to 15 years in prison.
Is this Justice?
The rate of maturity does not differ geographically. What varies are our own personnel beliefs, viewpoints, and paranoia. The sex laws are something that the United States are incredibly not united on. Something as subjective as the age of consent cannot possibly be agreed upon. There is no magical number where everyone matures at the same time, nor will there ever be.
The age of consent differs greatly around the world. In some countries such as Spain, Nigeria, and South Korea the age of consent is at 13 years of age, a number where some states in the U.S will send a man to prison up to 40 years, and over there it is understood as normal. Only one country exceeds 18 years of age, and that is the country Tunisia. The average age of consent around the world is 16 years of age.
There is no way for a court to decipher how mature an individual minor is, therefore any number set as an age of consent is arbitrary, lacks valid reasoning, and is biased based on opinions not understanding.
It is illegal for minors to have sex with other minors in the united states, though no one seriously taboos it, despises it, and it is common among our society, it is even humorous among our media, and the punishment is usually very minimal. Most teenagers do not acknowledge that their sexual activity is illegal.
An adult having sex with someone under age is forever shunned among our society is looked down upon as mentally sick, and is given the stigmatic title of a pedophile.
The act or fantasy on the part of an adult of engaging in sexual activity with a child or children. It’s important to point out that the children affected by pedophilia are prepubescent boys and girls (13 years old or younger). When teenagers are involved, the proper term is ephebophilia.
Adults attracted to teenagers who are emotionally and physically developed should not be deemed the more common term pedophile when they despite whatever the age gap is feel that they are compatible. It is unrealistic for the law to not acknowledge the sexual appetite of teenagers in today’s world.
The original purpose of the law is to protect the virginity of young girls. If the girl has already lost her virginity then the law serves no purpose. The law is based on double standard principles and that into today’s world no longer should apply. When a man looses his virginity, his bros have a celebration of high-fives, when a girl looses hers she is considered to some invaluable.
A poll on sexlaws.com was taken asking if a male student has sex with a male student under age 18 if he is the victim of the crime. The majority 40% said he is not the victim of the crime, 18% said the idea that he is the victim is ridiculous, 29% said yes, 6% said yes but not as serious as it is for females, and 7% are not sure. I’m sure most of the male students friends applauded him at his score, but were sorry to see their teacher fired and in jail.
When an adolescent male takes the virginity of another adolescent female he is being just a high school boy, and his hormones are enough to excuse him. When an adult has sex with an adolescent girl underage he is a predator, and is assumed to have manipulated her to do so.
Is this justice?
When a teenage girl has sex with multiple teenage boys she is considered a slut. When a teenage girl has a partner with someone responsible who is over 18 she is considered a victim.
Is this justice?
Two steady partners have been sexually active with each other since their junior year. The male turns 18 but continues with their activities. Someone finds out and he is sent to prison, and looses his college football scholarship.
Is this justice?
A minor has a ring on her finger. The adult wishes to marry her once she becomes of age, but authorities after finding out that they’re sexually active and send him to prison.
Is this justice?
Any mature emotional feelings a minor may have for an adult is an effect of manipulation. Under the law a minor’s love is deemed delusional. This is not justice.
As I’ve said before, there is no magical number that we all mature at the same time with. My solution to the predicament is for the age of consent to be determined by the parents’ permission. A minors parents are the strongest source to determine their maturity, not the country, not the state, not the courts, but the ones who have raised them to decide on when their ready. Though a minor should have the right to choose to whom they fall in love, a parent has a stronger right to their child’s sexual activity. This will create more flexibility in the system. A parent could decide on no contact, mild contact, or full sexual contact based on the child’s maturity and the family’s personnel beliefs.
This will create justice.
Work Cited

“Worldwide age of consent” Avert Online 6 September 2008 http://www.avert.org/aofconsent.htm

“Statutory Rape” Sex Laws Online
http://www.sexlaws.org/what_is_statutory_rape1

“Poll” Sex Laws Online
http://www.sexlaws.org/male_student_female_teacher_is_it_criminal_sex_abuse

“Pedophilia” Sex Laws Online
http://www.sexlaws.org/what_is_pedophilia

“Age of Consent” Sex Laws Online
http://www.sexlaws.org/age_of_consent

“Contributing to the delinquency of a minor”
http://law.jrank.org/pages/5703/Contributing-Delinquency-Minor.html