Age of Consent
My position on the age of consent is that I’m for it. I believe that the age of consent should be and always be age of 16, because once have turned 16 you should be mature enough to make your own decision on who you want to have sex with because you are now in high school and you’re old enough to know right from wrong.
The legal age of consent is Washington State is 16. Age of consent is the age when the law considers a person mature enough to agree to have sex. In the United states the federal government age of consent is 18. States have ages between 16 and 18.This law should apply to any action that takes place between different states or on a federal property. It makes it a crime to use any sort of form of communication between the states to try to get a minor to have sex with an adult.
Sex with someone under the age of (16) is known as a strict liability crime which is Statutory Rape in most states. A individual can and may have sex with whomever they wish and please just as long as that person is the same age or older. In the Jones v. Florida court case there was two men age 19 and 20 that were prosecuted for having sex with their 14 year old girlfriends. The girls both had declared that their consented in the courtroom , while holding hands with the accused throughout the trials. The court had found that the statute constitutional , precluding that the application of the privacy rights of minors given the state’s compelling interest in “preventing sexual exploitation early in life”. (http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1167&context=wmjowl) When a person is caught having sex or any other sexual activity, with someone that is below the age of consent (16) the person may be charged or punished as a sex offender. When there is a sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree it is a class C felony. In all states , dating , hugging , holding hands and or kissing are not illegal , but in some states fondling , groping through the clothes or any other things is known as “3rd base” which is illegal.
Many of the states have an age-gap provisions that does legalize teen sexuality just as long as they are within a certain age range. Some of the state laws make the age-gap less of a crime but they still will consider it a criminal activity can and will be prosecuted, where this is the case we have listed “no”. Age 16 if the man is 21 or older and if the female is over the age of 12, the status only applies to virgins.
The individual rights falls under the 2nd amendment of the United States Constitution. The individual right on age of consent is that after attaining the age of majority, a person can assume control over their own persons, actions, and or decisions which means its terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or their guardian over and for them “The age of majority is a legally fixed age, concept, or statutory principle, which may differ depending on the jurisdiction, and may not necessarily correspond to actual mental or physical maturity of an individual.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority) . Even though a person may attain the age of majority in a particular jurisdiction , he or she can or may still be subject to age-based restrictions regarding the matters of such the right to vote or stand for elective office , act as a judge and many others.
Therefore the age of consent in the state of Washington and many other states out there is important because it is an individual right and that being the age of 16 is being considered mature to the state because you are now old enough to make your own decision when it comes to having sex and your own body to know right from wrong. The age of consent will and always should be that of the legal age of 16.
