104
The Dersh is at it again [cw: Epstein stuff]
(hexbear.net)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2025
104 points (100.0% liked)
chapotraphouse
13920 readers
770 users here now
Banned? DM Wmill to appeal.
No anti-nautilism posts. See: Eco-fascism Primer
Slop posts go in c/slop. Don't post low-hanging fruit here.
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
Hot take: 18 is too high an age of consent, it should not be a concern for the criminal justice system if teenagers have sex with eachother. You probably should have some kind of sliding scale kind of thing though so a 50 year old can't have sex with a 15 year old.
That's how the law almost always is: close-in-age exemptions of like 2-4 years, down to a certain point.
Romeo and Juliet laws already exist to address that scenario
Ugh I remember romeo and juliet laws explained in that transformers movie in what was clearly an inappropriate thing and I'm here like why is it in this movie
They could have just made her 18
:joel-haver-joker:
I agree, but -
The thing about Age of Consent laws is that a case will never stand up in court unless the victim testifies. Even if a 50-y/o man is sleeping with a 14 y/o girl, it's practically impossible to prove criminality unless the victim testifies in court against him (and even then, there's a good chance that the judge will throw out the case anyways).
I think men that are paranoid about the legality of age gaps in relationships are either (1). Worried because they are taking advantage of young girls and think they would testify in court against then given the chance, or (2). Are more worried about what their social circles would think of them than a court of law.
I HATE to be this person but there is a good faith reason to care about this stuff.
In some states without these laws, statutory r*** can be weaponized by parents against partners they don't like. So if an 18 or 19 year old person is with a 17 year old and the parents don't like him they can definitely use these laws. It's an edge case but I wouldn't put it past bigots to try and use this shit. Racists or homophobes should not be trusted with this kind of leverage. And then you put someone on the registry as an offender for.... What is basically normal age gaps.
Most, of not all, states that enforce age of consent laws also have provisions for people who are close in age, "Romeo and Juliet" laws.
Like, in theory I agree, state law enforcement should not be concerned about a 17 year old and a 19 year old in a consensual relationship. But I also have to question if any 19 year olds are actually facing charges because of a 17 year old partner. Is it actually happening or is it just useful rhetoric that legitimate pedophiles like Alan Dershowitz employ so often it SOUNDS like a real thing?
I mean, according to this there's still 5 states without them.
https://attorneys.media/states-without-romeo-juliet-laws/
Not gonna do deep age of consent research btw, but seems semi-reliable.
Btw, once Romeo and Juliet laws are universal then there's no good faith argument against age of consent being 18. However I don't know about you but I wouldn't want some reactionary parents being able to leverage the lack of these laws against an LGBTQ partner they didn't approve of, for instance.
Btw Dershowitz is totally bad faith, but there is a good faith version of the issue that actually probably should be a priority in states without these laws. Again, my concern really is its weaponization by reactionaries more than anything. Why leave that shit lying around, as it were.
Could codify "half your age plus 8" I guess?
14 year olds and younger: ๐๏ธ๐๐๏ธ
14 year olds, shocked to find they're still below the age of consent