If it was up to you to set a new age of consent, what would the age be and why?

[genericuser]

The legal age of consent in MD is 16. it's 14 in PA.

Def need to meet some hot PA boys.... 14 = YUM

[NLbear]

In Holland the age of consent is 16. However, if both guys are aged between 12-16 then there is no penalty (to my knowledge). I think 16 is a good age. Younger, no, unless you're 14 and are experimenting with your also 14 yo buddy.

[flashcard]

15 years might be a good age of consent. BUT I was 11 years, 11 months old when I had sex with a pastor at my church. Although I knew I was gay when this happened, it was not a good experience. I didn't have sex again until I was 18. There are boys in their mid teens who want sex with adult men, but I don't think there are really that many. There are some teen boys I have fantasized about, but none I have pursued.

[Fricke]

In Sweden, the age is 15. I think 15 is a good limit because your brain is not fully developed earlier (it is not fully developed at 15 either) and then it is easy to rush into things you later regret. I think it might be ok earlier than 15 if both are the same age or not more than 1 years difference.

[ExtremeTop]

As soon as a boy can shoot sperm, that's old enough.

But I could shoot sperm at the age of 9, are you saying I could have been having sex?

[london18bttm]

I think it should be 12. I've craved dick since I was 10

[Ryaninohio44840]

Why put an age limit on a kid?

They em can tell you yes or no.

Let it them make their own choices if they are ready or not.

Just Street my two cents.

[buzztham]

in the united states the age seems to 16 and here is a link for world wide age of consent http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm

[VersatileBreeder]

Call me conservative, but I think the ages that we set forth in the law, which in the United States is pretty much universally 18, are just about right. Of course, there are states that allow 16 (or perhaps even 14) as long as the partner is within 3 or 4 years older than you. My reasoning behind this is because though teenagers may be mature enough physically to have sex by age 13 or 14, I honestly don't believe they are mature enough for the emotional impacts that can come along with sex at that age.

In my adult age (I'm in my late 20s), I am mature enough where I know how and where I can either attach emotion to sex (passionate love making) or detach emotion completely (just straight out casual fucking). I don't believe that teens know these lines and boundaries yet. If I were 16 and I had sex with an adult, I might believe I am or should be in love with that adult. I wouldn't know yet about how sex works in the adult world. I could be wrong. Because I am a high school teacher and am around teenagers all day long, I know pretty well how their minds work and operate. I can read them well enough. Many are not mature enough yet. And kids that get too deep into the adult world of sex as teenagers may pay for this in their later years when they have psychological issues around sex rooting from when they were teens and did sexual things they should have waited until adulthood to do.

If kids want to experiment with each other, sure, why not? We've all done it when we were kids I am pretty certain. And I am pretty sure that given that they are likely to be on the same mental level, there is not a whole lot of connection to be made, they are literally just testing out the equipment. But to engage in sexual acts with an adult is a whole other story. Many teenagers put up a front that they know everything, because let's face it, when you are a teen, you do believe you know everything. But the fact remains that they are still very naive about the world of sex and how it really works in the adult world. It is something that needs to be transitioned into in early adulthood, not jumped into as a child.

[rawTOP]

I just came across this quote on Wikipedia:

While the age of consent is now set between 16 and 18 in all U.S. states, the age of consent has widely varied across the country in the past. In 1880, the age of consent was 10 in most states but ranged from 7 in Delaware to 12 across nine states and the District of Columbia.

Source

Next time someone talks to you about "traditional values" add that one to your list - fucking a 10 year old (and in some areas a 7 year old) is apparently "traditional". Of course, so was owning slaves.

But a little more seriously – can someone please explain to me how the kids today are less ready for sex than they were in 1880? I mean if anything they're more ready. They have sex ed now. They have the Internet where they can see pretty much anything. Kids today understand sex in a way their counterparts 134 years ago would never have imagined in their wildest dreams.

The issue isn't that sex is riskier now. I mean Syphilis was a big problem back then. If it's an issue of better understanding the impact sex has on kids – haven't we overdone it a bit? I mean we live in a world where kids are pampered like crazy, and many types of risk are considered "unacceptable". The whole risk avoidance culture we live in is a rather big problem IMHO. It makes our society less creative (and interesting). And then layer on top of that how we see sex as dirty and evil and it just compounds the problem.

I guess what I'm saying is that, if there isn't any coercion or force, what's the big deal? Why can't we just teach our kids to say "no thanks" or laugh off sexual advances like we teach them to do in other non-sexual circumstances where they're not interested?

[bTW, I'm playing Devil's advocate a little bit with what I just said. I'm not saying we should go back to 10 as the threshold, but honestly the more I think about it the more I think the whole age of consent issue is rather fucked up. We need something more sensible.]

[flashcard]

I believe these very low consent ages were set as a way of facilitating marrying odd girls at a young age. I suspect that Delaware's age was set so low as to allow for children to be betrothed, if not married, at this age.

[natefuller]

I think 18 is fine and frankly I wish i'd waited until I was 18 to start. At 16 i was out of control and let sex make every decision for me, but by 18 i had a better head on my shoulders and made better choices.

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

In 1880 lives were significantly shorter. But I agree with rawTOP, we have gone somewhat over the edge in risk avoidance while, oddly, ignoring greater risks. The right to recovery likely has contributed to this. People take new drugs and then expect recovery when side effects show up. I have Cialis hearing loss in one ear. Were I a normal 'mericin; I would sue for damages to my hearing. And yet never give a second thought playing "Dark side of the moon" (It is a famous album by a group known as Pink Floyd young guys) at high volume in my car....

We are I think out of whack on risk. ... and I struggle to understand the Priest sex abuse topic. Maybe I was an early bloomer....

[barekinkfun]

Even if you're no manipulative child molester and truly mean well with the boy, you'll never be able to foretell what effect it's going to have on the child.

I totally agree with this. We know what message we want to send, we never know how another person will receive it though.

[Blankspace]

Id say 14 because at that age I knew what my wants/needs were, also you know what's right from wrong by then or you should.