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[Vector]

Exactly.  That's how I feel about it, too.

[Onlyhestands]

This may surprise you, but I'm very strongly for them as a general principle (though perhaps they might need to be fine-tuned a bit).  I realize that not everyone is like me, but I've had some very bad experiences dating across a four-year age gap--and I was fresh out of high school, a fully consenting adult!

I dated a women 9 years older than me for a period, no real bad experience with her. I figure the two year leeway rule for people under 18 is good enough. I think an 18yr old with a 15yr old is a bit odd.

[Vector]

Mine was 18 and 22; I'd just graduated from high school, he'd just graduated from college.  Didn't work out so well because I was a bit of a pushover and didn't have the critical thinking skills I needed to figure out what was going on.

[SalmonGod]

I see it as such a grey area that I can't shake the feeling that trying to legislate it is overreaching and sort of lashing out uselessly at reality.

I mean... young people put themselves in social situations that they regret later.  This doesn't just apply to romantic relationships, but to every aspect of socialization and it happens to absolutely everybody.  It's not even always about being taken advantage of.  Often enough people hurt each other because they all have their own problems and misunderstandings, or just don't understand what they want.  Screwing up is part of figuring all that out.  I understand that the damage from being taken advantage of in a romantic relationship can run deep and there are real predatory people out there, which is why it's something I don't argue much.  I've never looked into how much variation there is in how different places handle it.  Maybe someplace has sensible laws in this area that wouldn't bother me.  As it stands, they usually seem to be incredibly black & white, which inevitably results in a bunch of collateral damage.

[Vector]

I think I'd feel better about it if part of our general coursework included discussion of consent.  I don't just mean sexually, I mean on all levels, like how prisoners cannot meaningfully consent to a lot of things.

[SalmonGod]

Yeah.  I think we'd probably all agree that the real problem is we're instituting threat of punishment for behaviors that are the result of other failings in society.  Majority of parents don't get as much time with their kids as they really need for healthy parenting, and school does absolutely nothing to teach or encourage social awareness and responsibility (like teaching about consent).  And then there's so little support for people who become damaged as a result.

[Scoops Novel]

Salmongod, to be honest I'm not sure if the parents would do a better job on that front if they could.

[Owlbread]

My parents taught me quite well about stuff like consent and social awareness, responsibility etc. Much better than I ever got in school at any time of my education. I don't know why you suggest sweepingly that parents wouldn't do a better job on that front if they could, Novel.

Fake Edit: God damnit why do I have to be pageking after saying something that isn't very profound? I'm going to quote Salmongod instead.

Yeah.  I think we'd probably all agree that the real problem is we're instituting threat of punishment for behaviors that are the result of other failings in society.  Majority of parents don't get as much time with their kids as they really need for healthy parenting, and school does absolutely nothing to teach or encourage social awareness and responsibility (like teaching about consent).  And then there's so little support for people who become damaged as a result.

[Scoops Novel]

There's a limit to how responsible i expect most adults, including parents, to be. Most do the bare minimum of family and (close) friends, and it is not enough. Tell me when they're acting any better then their children will.

[Owlbread]

I think we should always give parents a chance to raise their own kids. We should have faith in people. The same argument can be applied to age ratings and such on computer games/films etc. They should be guidelines to help parents understand what they're buying for their kids, not law.

[Scoops Novel]

It will help, yes. I just doubt enough.

[SalmonGod]

Enough for what?  I don't really understand the point of what you're saying, in context.  Yeah, there are bad parents.  All I was saying is that it doesn't matter if a parent is good or bad if they aren't allowed time and energy to devote to parenting in the first place, and that they aren't is one factor in the overall point I was making.

[Scoops Novel]

I'm talking about social awareness and responsibility. Their kids may well be better then they were there, and I'm not particularly sure they'd be the ones I'd praise for it.

[Nadaka]

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/illegal-gay-teen-florida-141300769.html

[Dutchling]

AKA: Don't ever have laws which you don't enforce 100%* of the time.
Justice can't be and shouldn't be arbitrary.

*or 0%, woohoo drug laws