In Vermont a 15 year old can legally have sex with a 19 year old.

[cali]

It is not rape if it is consensual.

I support that. Teenagers are sexual beings. They are going to have sex and I sure as shit do not want to see a 19 year old who is having consensual sex with a 15 year old branded for life as a sexual offender.

A close-in-age exemption to the Vermont legal age of consent allows a minor 15 or 16 years old to engage ins sexual contact with a partner up to 19 years of age.
Vermont Close-In-Age Exemption
Vermont has a close-in-age exemption, also known as a "Romeo and Juliet law", to the legal age of consent. This provision allows partners who are close in age, or both under the Vermont age of consent, to engage in consensual sex without fear of prosecution under Vermont age of consent regulations. For more information, read about close-in-age exemptions.

http://www.age-of-consent.info/states/Vermont

[phleshdef]

1. Yea, a lot of states have a 4 year exemption.

Which I totally agree with. A 19 year old kid shouldn't be placed on a sex offenders list for the rest of their life for having sex with a girl or boy only 3.5 years younger. I don't encourage that kind of behavior of course. But its most certainly not deserving of extreme punishment.

[cali]

3. That kind of behavior doesn't bother me as long

as it's consensual and they practice safe sex.

[phleshdef]

12. I didn't mean that it necessarily bothered me.

My first time was at 15.

But ideally, I don't think teenagers should be having a sex life at that age.

[appleannie1]

2. Legal or not, it is done all the time

So why ruin a future over it?

[Kalidurga]

4. The problem isn't the ages...

The problem is too many rapist will use that exception when there was no previous relationship. I agree if this is a seriously dating situation. I don't agree when a guy uses it to justify sex with a minor he just met a day ago.

[cali]

6. Lots of kids that age hook up. You may not like it, but it's a fact and it is consensual

unless you're arguing that the 15 year old is too young to give consent. What difference does it make if the 15 year old consents to sex with someone who is 17 rather than 18 with a person they just met a day ago?

[Kalidurga]

8. I am not worried about hook ups...

Parents rarely know about those so there is little chance a 19 year old would be prosecuted in that case. But, there is out and out rape or assault and we really have to be careful that we don't allow someone to claim it was consensual because she was old enough. It is a big enough problem with the she said/ he said rape claims from adults.

[HappyMe]

5. As long as it's consensual

and they use a condom, I don't see any reason to brand somebody a sex offender.

[MineralMan]

7. It's interesting to look at the age of consent on a historical basis.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/24

The website at the link has a chart showing the age of consent in 1880, 1920, and 2007. Many people will be shocked at the 1880 ages for states in the US. In many cases, it was as low as 10 years of age. In Delaware, it was a shocking 7 years of age. Many states lowered their age of consent between 1920 and 2007. In 1920, though, the age of consent in Georgia, for example, was 14. In 2007, it was 16, and still is today. 16 is pretty much the norm, today, with 31 states having set that age. It is also the most common age in 1920, but a number of states set it at 18. California and several other states still show it at 18, but close-in-age laws allow kids under the age of consent to boink away without being illegal.

[cali]

9. and happy boinking to them.

It drives me nuts to see people claiming that anytime a 19 year old has sex with a 15 year old, it's de facto rape.

[babylonsister]

32. Some women had very large families back in the day.

I think part of that was no birth control, but also potential farm hands and baby sitters.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Romeo was probably at least 18. Juliet was difinitely 13.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_old_is_the_character_Romeo_in_Romeo_and_Juliet

Juliet is "a fortnight and odd days" from her 14th birthday. Romeo is something of an accomplished swordsman, so he surely cannot be himself 14-17, for he takes on Tybalt, the "king of cats," (meaning an excellent swordsman) and kills him immediately--despite the movie version of the play, which has the two fighting for a good 10 minutes. Also, at the end of the play he fights and kills Paris with a sword.


Likely Romeo was at least 18 and quite possibly in his early 20's. Shakespeare probably gloated over this discussion 400 years ago.

[LittleBlue]

11. If you want weird, look at the Chinese version of Selena Gomez and Bieber

Except he's 24 and she's... 12.

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-24-year-old-chinese-popstar-is-dating-a-12-year-old-model-2012-9

Creepy as hell, ridiculously popular in China. Their relationship page has over a million followers on Weibo, which is Chinese twitter.

[Lex]

13. What about a drunken 15 year old?

Changes the scenario a bit if a 15 year was out of her mind with alcohol.

[cali]

14. If the 15 year old is too drunk to consent that is a different thing

and it's a different thing whether the 15 year old is with another 15 year old or a 19 year old.

[Kber]

15. Changes if a 30 year old is drunk out of her mind too.

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. Exactly

[ZombieHorde]

28. No one can consent when drunk out their minds.

If couple may said, "Hey, lets get super drunk and have sloppy drunk sex," then that would be different.

[Comrade Grumpy]

36. I did. I think a lot of people do.

Unless we want to call all drunken sex rape.

[Warren DeMontague]

17. A lot of people get older and they forget or go in denial about their own sex lives as teens.

I was having sex at 16. People 16, 17 were having sex with people 15. It was a fairly common situation.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. I'm glad you posted this

I have to admit that I was a bit mystified by all the people in the other thread saying "He's 19 and she's 15? That's rape! Period." This was pretty common practice when I was a teenager, and nobody would really blink to see a 19 year old seriously dating a 15 or 16 year old. I will say that below that, people would usually raise an eyebrow. I'm not talking about the 50's or 60's either. I'm talking late 80's early 90's (in NYC). A friend of mine (a 15 and then 16 year old girl) was dating a 19 and then 20 year old through much of high school. Her parents loved the guy. I thought I was suddenly a weirdo not to be that perturbed by 19 yo/15 yo relationships when so many people on that other thread were horrified by it.

[arely staircase]

33. we must be about the same age

when I was 22 I had a 17 year old girlfriend (17 is the age of consent in texas) we dated for 5 years.

[Cleita]

19. Tricky sex and age thing.

Sure once kids reach sexuality, they probably are going to experiment with each other. Certainly adults should not be taking advantage of kids even if it's consensual. However, when I was fifteen, I often lied to guys in their early twenties about my age because I was trying to pretend I was older and sophisticated. Fortunately, there was no sex involved other than dancing and touching and kissing that was about the same as dancing. (Sexual revolution hadn't happened yet.) But what if there had been sex and we got caught. What should happen to that person then?

[Honeycombe8]

20. None of my business what some other state allows. Most states do not allow that.

It's statutory rape.

[cali]

21. No, it's not statutory rape if it's not against any law. And it's not only VT

it's quite a few other states.

Gad, I hate this puritanical shit.

[Honeycombe8]

27. It's statutory rape in most other states. I looked it up earlier. There are about 4 states younger

than 16 as age of consent. Most it's 17 or 18.

God, I hate this anti-factual shit.

[tabasco]

30. Then stop foisting anti-factual shit.

By referring only to age of consent, your post completely disregards the age-difference exceptions in state statutory rape laws.

Here's a handy link:

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/olrdata/jud/rpt/2003-r-0376.htm

[Honeycombe8]

37. One more personal attack, and you'll be alerted on. Chill. This is a forum, not your real life.

This is not an end all and be all. This is a friendly forum, where you suddenly chose to attack someone who merely pointed out that s/he didn't care what some state s/he doesn't live in has laws about regarding rape. And who pointed out that most other states are dissimilar.

I suppose you think that statement makes you look bad. Grow up.

If you read my other posts, I'm just a factual person. I don't really get upset about much of anything. But when I state facts, that's all they are. It's not an attack to state a fact. I once said that dogs have higher intelligence than horses. A horse lover (of which I am one, btw) got all offended at the "attack" on horses. WTF? A simple factual statement is an attack...I guess encyclopedias are attacking things all over the place, what with their factual statements.

[Common Sense Party]

38. There was no personal attack in that post.

You're the one getting defensive and hostile. Go back, re-read the post and then your response to it.

Chill, indeed.

[cali]

39. then stop posting anti-factual shit. In 31 states the age of consent is 16

In many there are what are called "Romeo and Juliet" laws.

[Egalitarian Thug]

22. There's a reason that 13 is such a popular age of majority. And there is no such thing as adolescence

we just made that shit up to retain control for a few more years after infantilizing our offspring.

[cliffordu]

34. Ding ding ding we have a winnah!!!!

Exactly. Both my grannies were married by 13, little sister had her first at the same age and I was digging ditches at a county boys ranch at 13 for high crimes and misdemeanors.

I think one of the reasons if not THE. Reason this culture is so self obsessed and narcissistic is due to the extension of a pampered childhood into young adulthood

Kinda like a countrywide version of the Peter Pan syndrome

[Zax2me]

23. I hate it when a 19 year old is convicted and labeled as sex offender for life.

When he has consensual sex with his 16 year old girlfriend.
He has to register as a sex offender. But this is a HUGE difference from a 45 year old man molesting a three year old girl or boy.

[we can do it]

26. I agree, especially when they've grown up nearby. One alsways is older than the other.

[justanidea]

24. I think this is a good time to consult the "Half your age + 7 rule"

If you're unsure whether a certain person is too young for your relationship to be socially acceptable, just half your age and add 7. If their current age is equal or greater you're good to go.

This rule actually works out to be stricter than Vermont's law too. 19/2+7 = 16.5

[cliffordu]

35. Lessee..... I'm 61, my lovely Savannah

Is 40. Oh, yeah, and I'm broke so don't start with that.

I will NEVER stop crowing about this.

(No, no. It ain't THAT either. I make her laugh)

[we can do it]

25. No problem with that as long as it is consensual.

My partner are 10 years apart in age (been together nearly 24 years now), her parents 12 years apart.

[kiva]

31. I think that's realistic.

Unfortunately some states are not. According to this site: http://age-of-consent.findthedata.org/ , in Colorado a 26 year old can have sex with a 16 year old and it's OK; in Minnesota a 12 year old and a 15 year old can have sex and no one is legally chargeable (actually the state lists no minimum age, just that there is no more than 3 years between the ages of the two people).

[davidpdx]

40. I didn't have sex until I was 18

But when I was 17 I was involved with a 19 year old female friend. Neither of our parents had any idea of what was going on.